Terry Bywater and Lucy Shuker named ParalympicsGB’s flagbearers for Paris 2024
Around 80% of the ParalympicsGB athletes voted, with Bywater and Shuker elected, ITV News' Martha Fairlie reports
Wheelchair basketball player Terry Bywater and wheelchair tennis athlete Lucy Shuker will carry the Union flag for ParalympicsGB at the opening ceremony in Paris.
The British flagbearers are voted for by their ParalympicsGB teammates, with all 215 athletes getting a vote and every sport with a GB representative allowed to nominate a representative for the selection.
Around 80% of the athletes voted, with Bywater and Shuker elected.
"That’s incredible. To be a flag bearer is pretty awesome", said Shuker, a two-time bronze medallist.
"To have that honour to lead ParalympicsGB out is incredible and something that I never thought I would do.
"To qualify for my first Paralympics in Beijing was an achievement in itself - but to come to my fifth Paralympics and now be a flagbearer is a real dream come true.
"Leading the parade down the Champs-Elysées and Place de la Concorde is going to be really different – eyes will be on me, but also the rest of ParalympicsGB."
She said that being at the front of the team is "incredible" and "an honour".
"The team is everything, we are all there to represent ParalympicsGB and bring back medals – so we will do it together," she said.
Shuker first represented ParalympicsGB at Beijing 2008. She claimed her first medal four years later, in London 2012, when she won the women’s doubles bronze alongside Jordanne Whiley.
The pair went on to win another bronze medal at Rio 2016 before going one better at Tokyo 2020 where they claimed silver.
Shuker will share the flag with Terry Bywater. He made his Paralympic debut back in Sydney 2000 at just 17 years old.
Since then, he has been a permanent fixture in the British team at every Games since. He has won four Paralympic bronze medals - most recently at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games.
Reacting to the news, the 41-year-old said: "It's a dream come true – I feel quite emotional. This is my seventh Games, I actually wear the number seven vest too – so this is all a bit crazy right now.
"To be honest, carrying the Union flag, it hasn’t sunk in - I’m just super, super proud.
"This is not just about me, this is for the 215 athletes that are here, all the staff, my family, my wife, my son, my family that have passed away that always followed me – I’ll be doing it for everyone", he added.
Penny Briscoe, ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission for Paris 2024, said: "Their selection underlines just how much both athletes epitomise the Paralympic values that we as a team are so proud of.
"I have had the pleasure of working closely with both Terry and Lucy since they made their Paralympic debuts, and watching them grow both as competitors and as individuals.
"Their dedication and commitment to their sport, matched with their positive attitudes and enthusiasm to support those around them makes me immensely proud."
The opening ceremony takes place on Wednesday 28 August, and the competition will run for 11 days and finish on September 8.
Much like the Olympics, the opening ceremony for the Paralympics will not take place in a stadium. Instead, the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées will be the stage for the celebration in the heart of Paris.
Tickets are still available to buy via the official website. Tickets include day-long Discovery Passes for €24 (£20.50), allowing you to attend several sessions in a day.
Tickets are also available for the Games' opening ceremony, for €150 (£127).
The ceremony will be led by Thomas Jolly, Artistic Director for the Ceremonies.
He said: "While the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will be the first of its kind, I look forward to creating a spectacle that will showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody."
An expected 65,000 spectators will be able to attend the Opening Ceremony.
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