Record man Roberts to carry flag

Published on Tuesday 16 September 2008 22:50

SWIMMER David Roberts will carry the Great Britain flag at the Paralympics closing ceremony after equalling Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson's haul of 11 titles with four gold medals in Beijing. The 28-year-old from Pontypridd led Britain's swimmers to a highly successful Games in the pool, with the team claiming 41 medals, 11 of them gold.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be chosen to carry the flag at the closing ceremony," said Roberts, who won three golds in Sydney and four in Athens.

"Beijing has been a fantastic experience for me and to achieve my goal of winning four gold medals is incredibly satisfying. But to be given the huge honour of carrying the flag for such a successful team is overwhelming."

Roberts missed the opening ceremony as he was competing the following day and he hopes to absorb the atmosphere of the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium.

"It is going to be a very special moment," he added.

Chef de mission Phil Lane applauded the appointment. "There have been some superb performances by many GB athletes in these games but no-one is more worthy than Dave to carry the flag," said Lane.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Coe maintains London will rise to the challenge of emulating the success of the Beijing Games once the Paralympics close tonight. Lord Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, hailed China for organising a wonderful spectacle which the British capital will learn from and try to improve on once it assumes the mantle of host city.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games will be treated with absolute parity for the first time in London with the same delivery processes conducted for both events. "It's always been a part of the vision," Coe said.

As for following Beijing, Coe added: "We don't find it daunting. I think that I can only relate it to sitting in a stadium when I was a competitor watching an outstanding performance in my own event. I didn't feel cowed by it. I went out and wanted to emulate it or even do better."