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Katie Ledecky, Nick Mead Chosen to Carry U.S. Flag at Olympics Closing Ceremony
Gold medal rower Nick Mead said he's "gotta get a haircut" before leading Team USA at the closing of the 2024 Games.
Gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Nick Mead had the best reactions when learning they’d bear the flag at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games Closing Ceremony.
On Thursday, August 8, 2024, Ledecky — recently earning the distinct honor of being the U.S.A.’s most decorated female Olympian — learned from fellow gold medal-winning swimmer Bobby Finke that she earned the honor of bearing the flag for Sunday’s event. Her tearful reaction was captured in a video posted by Team USA on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
A follow-up video by Team USA also caught Nick Mead — who helped the U.S. men’s four rowing team win their first gold since 1960 — after rowing teammate Justin Best delivered the same news.
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Both were voted to bear the stars and stripes by their compatriots following a process led by the official Team USA Athletes’ Commission, which represents the voices of all U.S. athletes, as stated by US Rowing, the sports governing body that represents Mead. In their videos, both were appointed with an official jacket to wear for the highly anticipated conclusion of the Games.
How did Ledecky and Mead respond to the news?
Tuning in from the Pont Alexandre III bridge on the Seine — which set the stage for the women’s 10km marathon swimming event — Ledecky was all smiles when surprised by a video call from Finke. Finke called her a “huge inspiration and leader” in a message that initially left Ledecky speechless.
“I’ve gotten to know you for these past 12 years, and I really can’t think of anyone better to lead us out of these Olympic Games,” said Finke.
Ledecky stood stunned by the news, giving a nervous laugh.
“I’m here at Open Water, and you’re making me cry,” Ledecky told Finke.
She later took to X to share her gratitude.
“Honored to lead Team USA. at the Closing Ceremony with Nick! Proud of my teammates here in Paris, and excited to celebrate with all of them on Sunday,” she stated with an American flag emoji.
Meanwhile, while sitting outside a Parisian café, Best listed some of the United States’ “flexes” for 2024, including their glorious win after 64 years and Ledecky’s record-breaking success.
“And, I think, my favorite stat is that you’re gonna be the flag bearer alongside Katie Ledecky at the Closing Ceremony,” he told Mead.
Mead was taken aback by the news, wondering, “Is that announced?”
He high-fived his rowing teammates before putting the new jacket on.
“I got chills,” said Mead. “That’s pretty cool. … I gotta get a haircut.”
After the surprise wore off, the bow rider told US Rowing it was an “incredible honor” to be the first rower to lead the USA in the Games’ final event, and with Ledecky by his side, no less.
“My experience at the Paris Games has been the dream of a lifetime, and I’m filled with immense pride, gratitude, and joy,” Mead stated. “I also wish to thank the city of Paris and the entire country of France for hosting an incredible Games. I’ll cherish these memories forever.”
Who is Nick Mead?
The 29-year-old rower, along with Best, Michael Grady, and Liam Corrigan, recently beat New Zealand in the men’s fours’ 2,000-meter final by 0.85 seconds, winning the gold for the first time since the 1960 Games in Rome, according to Team USA. Although rowing with and against each other since 2019, the quartet assembled two years ago, something considered a long time in the world of competitive coxless rowing.
Mead comes from Strafford, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia in Chester County, and hails from a rowing background. His father rowed for Princeton in the class of 1981, and his mother and older brother rowed for the Ivy League rival University of Pennsylvania, according to Mead’s Team USA profile.
Like his father, Mead rowed for the Princeton Tigers.
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Per Mead’s Princeton stats, Mead has competed since 2012, amassing many accolades along the way. He competed in the 2013 Junior World Championships and won the 2013 Scholastic Rowing Association of America title as a high school team captain at Episcopal Academy. In 2014, he rowed 2v (second boat) in the IRA Nationals and won silver, then again in the Eastern Sprints.
He helped win bronze in both regattas the following year and helped the Tigers beat the Harvard team for the Compton Cup.
Mead and his team continued to medal in various rowing events, and in 2017, he became Princeton’s Team Captain. His Team USA profile shows he won silver in 2017 for the men’s eight and again in 2023 for the men’s four.
Mead joined Best and Corrigan in the men’s eight for the 2020 Games in Tokyo but just missed the podium by placing fourth.
In 2023, he won U.S. Rowing’s Male Athlete of the Year.
Mead worked the bow for the men’s gold-medal win on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, playing a vital role in the rowers’ communication. In the men’s four, each teammate was equipped with a single oar, rowing alternately in what’s known as “sweeping.”
Princeton’s head coach, Greg Hughes, called it “an amazing piece of rowing from Nick and his teammates.”
When not rowing his way to gold, Mead is a Senior Transportation Planner for Peloton.
When is the Closing Ceremony?
The 2024 Summer Games’ Closing Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Stade de Paris on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. Those at home can see the footage on NBC or stream on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app, or the NBC Olympics app.
Beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET, viewers can see Best of Paris, recapping the highlights of the 2024 Games in an hour-long special. The Closing Ceremony starts at 3:00 p.m. ET, and an enhanced encore in primetime will be available to watch at 7:00 p.m. ET.
At 10:00 p.m. ET, the Closing Ceremony will feature a segment, Countdown to LA28, a handover of the Games from Paris to Los Angeles, where the 2028 will take place.
