Who are the flag bearers for Team USA at the 2026 Olympic Games opening ceremony?

Milano Cortina 2026 won’t be the first time that Erin Jackson and Frank Del Duca have attended the Olympic Games but the two athletes have been assigned an extra responsibility, beyond hopefully achieving success in their respective disciplines.

Jackson and Del Duca have been nominated by their fellow athletes to carry the United States national flag into San Siro Olympic stadium during the Opening and Closing ceremonies. The pair were confirmed as Team USA’s official flag-bearers by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee on Tuesday.

The Opening Ceremony will be held at San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. / 10 a.m. PT on Friday while the grand finale will he held just over a fortnight later with the Closing Ceremony at Verona Arena on February 22.

About Team USA’s flag-bearers

Speedskater Erin Jackson picked up the gold medal in the Women’s 500m speed skating event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming the first Black American woman to win a medal in an individual Winter Olympic sport.

Born in Florida in 1992, Erin took up skating when she was just eight years old. Her specialties include the 500-meter, 1,000-meter and Team Sprint. This will be her third Olympics, after representing the US at Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022. In Milan, Erin will be defending her 500 meter crown, which begins on February 14.

For Frank Del Duca, this will be his second Olympics. The 34-year-old bobsledder represented the United States at the 2022 games in Beijing, after making the move from push athlete to pilot. Frank and teammate Hakeem Abdul-Saboor finished 13th in the two-man event and 10th in the four-man event.

Del Duca piloted his team to a fourth-place finish in two-man and four-man bobsled events last year’s IBSF World Championships in Lake Placid, New York.

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