Patrizia van der Weken to carry Luxembourg flag at Olympics closing ceremony

On Saturday, the Luxembourg Olympic and Sporting Committee (COSL) announced that runner Patrizia van der Weken will be the Grand-Duchy's flag bearer at the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday evening. The ceremony will take place at the Stade de France as of 9pm.

At a press briefing, former high jump athlete and Luxembourg delegation head Raymond Conzemius spoke highly of his athletes' performances, achieving a total of four spots in the top 20, an improvement from the Olympics in Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016. Conzemius singled out the performances of Ni Xia Lian, Christine Majerus, and Nicolas Wagner Ehlinger as particularly noteworthy.

However, he also dedicated special attention to Patrizia van der Weken, Luxembourg's flag bearer in Paris, who he believes will go down in the Luxembourgish history books with her outstanding performance in the 100m semi-final and a 15th place finish in the royal discipline that is athletics.

© RTL

On a final note, COSL officials stressed the need to look beyond top-level sport and reinforce the values of sport in daily life, particularly among young people in clubs and schools.

Frédéric Margue of the Performance Team noted, regrettably, that there were some issues in the Olympic village regarding food and noise disturbances near the Luxembourgish team's rooms. Nonetheless, the 13 Luxembourgish athletes, the COSL, and the medical staff "worked very well together."

Finally, Sports Minister Georges Mischo declared that the very first edition of the Maison du Luxembourg was a success. Set up close to the Stade de France, the space has been providing a lively meeting place for visitors with live broadcasts, stage programmes, and live music. Undoubtedly, there were some evenings where the space was not as busy, but overall the atmosphere on most nights was fantastic, Mischo underlined.

© RTL