Paris 2024: Germany's Olympic flag bearers

Following World War II, German athletes were banned from competing at the 1948 Summer Games in London but returned for Helsinki four years later. The flag bearer was decathlete Friedel Schirmer — a former member of the Nazi Party and Russian prisoner of war. Hampered by an injury, he finished eighth in Helsinki.

In Rome, the show jumper bore the German flag for a second time, but this time in the actual venue. In 1956, the riders did not travel to the Olympic venue of Melbourne due to the strict Australian quarantine regulations for animals, but instead competed in Stockholm. In Rome, there were no such restrictions. Thiedemann won gold with the German team at both Olympics.

From 1956 to 1968, athletes from West and East Germany competed as one team. In Tokyo, East German diver Ingrid Engel-Krämer became the first German woman to carry the flag. She won gold from the 3-meter board and silver from the 10-meter tower.

In Munich, West Germany's flag bearer competed in his fourth Olympics. Having already retired from the sport, the canoeist staged a comeback for the "home Games," winning a bronze medal, as he had in in 1968. Standing beside him, West German hurdler Heidi Schüller became the first woman to take the Olympic oath.

The most successful German show jumper arrived in Canada as a five-time Olympic champion — which earned him the honor of carrying the flag. However, Winkler and his horse Torphy only managed to win silver with the West German team at his last Olympic Games.

Four years later, the United States and other Western countries, including West Germany, boycotted the Olympic Games. Handball player Kristina Richter carried the East German flag into Moscow's Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony. East Germany's women won bronze in handball.

When Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1984, Russia and other Eastern Bloc countries retaliated with a boycott of their own. The West German flag was carried into the Coliseum by sailor Willi Kuhweide, who won gold in the Finn class in 1964 and bronze in the Star boat in 1972. In 1984, he came away empty-handed in the Soling.

As far as the number of medals is concerned, there could not have been a more suitable flag bearer than the canoeist, who already carried the German flag at the closing ceremony in Atlanta in 1996. Before Sydney, Birgit Fischer had already won five Olympic titles and two silver medals. She added two gold medals in Australia and another gold and silver four years later in Athens.

In the motherland of the Olympic Games, an equestrian athlete again led the way. At the time, however, the four-time Olympic champion didn't yet know that the 2004 Games in Athens would bring him a lot of trouble. The German show jumping team was subsequently stripped of its gold medal due to the unauthorized medication of Beerbaum's horse, Goldfever.

The 2.13-meter (7 foot) basketball player would probably have stood out among the German Olympic team even without the flag. For Dirk Nowitzki, it was an "incredible honor" to perform the role. He was the first German flag bearer since 1952 not to win an Olympic medal — Germany finished fifth in men's basketball. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable experience for Nowitzki.

The opening ceremony of the London Games set new standards with fantastic show elements and incredible choreography. Field hockey player Natascha Keller had the honor of carrying the German flag into the Olympic Stadium. However, on the pitch it was a disappointing Games for Keller, with the German women finishing seventh.

Four years later things went much better for the German flag bearer. Although Timo Boll was eliminated in the round-of-16 in the singles, he consoled himself with a bronze medal in the team competition. Boll won a total of four Olympic medals, all in team events: silver in 2008 and 2020, bronze in 2004 and 2016. He may even add another medal in Paris 2024, his seventh Games.

In 2021, the German Olympic Sports Confederation complied with the IOC recommendation by naming male and female flag bearers for the first time. The honor went to beach volleyball player Laura Ludwig and diver Patrick Hausding. However, the mood was dampened by COVID-19, which forced the Games to be held without spectators and a year later than planned.

World champion judoka Anna-Maria Wagner, who also won the world title in 2021, will join NBA star Dennis Schröder in carrying the German flag for the Paris Games. Wagner won bronze twice in Tokyo in 2021. Schröder led Germany to its first Basketball World Cup title in 2023, and was named FIBA World Cup MVP last year.