Flag bearers carry the national flag of their country at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the Olympic Games. Soviet officials expected the flag bearer to show an example of an attractive, physically strong person and a distinguished athlete. He was expected to carry the flag through the Olympic ceremony in one hand unsupported by a harness. This presented a formidable physical task as the flag weighed in the 1960s, and a sudden wind might further increase the physical load. Hence the Soviet flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics were selected from among heavyweight weightlifters or wrestlers, who did not have to compete the next day. Soviet officials also expected the flag bearer to win a gold medal at the given Olympics. This resulted in absurd situations at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics, when the selected flag bearers,

Yakov Kutsenko Yakiv Hryhorovych Kutsenko (, 22 November 1915 – 13 August 1988) was a Ukrainian heavyweight weightlifter. Between 1946 and 1950 he won two European titles and two silver medals at world championships, both times losing to John Davis (weightli ...

and Aleksey Medvedev respectively, were not allowed to compete because the officials did not believe they would win a gold medal. Both were top-level heavyweight weightlifters. Kutsenko placed second at the 1950 World Championships and Medvedev won the world title in 1956 and 1957.Kochetkov, Aleksandr (8 August 2008
Флагманы сборной
newizv.ru Below is a list of flag bearers who have represented the Soviet Union at the Olympics.Soviet Union
Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 25 October 2011.

References

{{Olympic national flag bearers lists by nation Soviet Union at the Olympics Soviet Union Olympic flagbearers

See also

References