Announcement of New Zealand Paralympic Team Flag Bearers & Final Team Announcement
Paralympian #164 and Aquablack #272 Cameron Leslie MNZM (Whangarei) has been unveiled as one of the flag bearers of our New Zealand Paralympic Team heading to Paris. Leslie will be joined by Paralympian #195 Anna Grimaldi MNZM (Para Athletics) as joint flag bearers, where they will lead the team during the opening ceremony taking place along the Avenue Champs Elysees and the Place de la Concorde on 29 August (NZ time).
The flag bearers were announced as part of the New Zealand Paralympic Team farewell event staged in Auckland tonight (Wednesday 24 July). The team features Para athletes across eight Para sports, two more than at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Three-time Paralympic Champion, Cameron Leslie, is proud and humbled by the opportunity to be the flag bearer for New Zealand as he heads to his fourth Paralympics.
“It’s an absolute honour and something incredibly humbling. I’m proud to be part of the history of the Paralympic Movement in New Zealand and to lead the Paris 2024 Team at the Opening Ceremony is going to be special. I know many people who have supported me over the years will be super stoked.”
Back-to-back Paralympic Champion in Long Jump T47, Anna Grimaldi, was also incredibly honoured by this opportunity.
“I couldn’t be more honoured to be one of the team flag bearers with Cam. When I was asked, I was really emotional. To have been thought of as a leader in this space makes me proud of how far I’ve come in my career. I can’t wait to get to Paris and carry the flag alongside Cam. It is going to be one of the highlights of my career.”
Leslie and Grimaldi will lead a 25-strong team of athletes who will wear the fern with pride as the final make up of Para athlete, to be supported by 39 support staff at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The team comprises 11 Para athletes who will make their Paralympic debuts and 14 Paralympians who have appeared at previous Paralympic Games.
Leading the way is Paralympian #148 Michael Johnson MNZM (Shooting Para sport), who is making a record-equalling sixth Paralympic Games appearance for New Zealand to match the feat of Paralympian #4 Graham Condon QSM (who competed between 1968-1988).
The team features Wojtek Czyz, the first New Zealand Para athlete to feature in Para badminton, Matthew Britz, the first Para table tennis player for 48 years and Neelam O’Neill, the first female Shooting Para sport athlete for 40 years.
Featuring 11 women and 14 men, the team has a broad geographic spread from across New Zealand, with Para athletes hailing from Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Canterbury, West Coast and Otago.
The cultural make-up of Para athletes forming the NZ Paralympic Team includes; Chinese, Maori, Tongan, Dutch, Samoan, Fijian-Indian and South African.
The oldest member of the Team for Paris 2024 is 62-year-old Greg Reid (Paralympian #204, Shooting Para sport), with the youngest member Para swimmer Gabriella Smith, 18.
NZ Paralympic Team Chef de Mission, Raylene Bates MNZM, said she is looking forward to leading the NZ Paralympic Team as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
“I’m very excited and honoured to lead such a diverse team of athletes, which includes a healthy blend of Paralympic debutants and seasoned campaigners across eight different Para sports. For the NZ Paralympic Team to comprise Para athletes across such a range of Para sports, including our first ever Para badminton player, bodes well not only for our potential success in Paris but also for future Games."
Bates is focused on creating an environment that helps the athletes thrive on the Paralympic stage.
“Some of our athletes are ranked very highly and there is a high level of expectation but from my perspective it is all about providing an environment which allows the Para athletes to perform at their best both in Paris and at the Shooting Para sport base in Chateauroux.
Bates also believes Paris will be an excellent host for the Paralympic Games.
We are thrilled to be competing in Paris, which is hosting a Paralympic Games for the first time. The city has a proven track record of hosting magnificent sporting events - and we can’t wait to get over to the French capital and compete.”
Find the full list of Para athletes and support staff selected for the NZ Paralympic Team for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games below.
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