List of flag bearers for Team USA throughout Olympic history

LeBron James and Coco Gauff received one of the greatest honors an American athlete can get at the Olympics, and it's not a gold medal.

The NBA superstar and tennis champion were the Team USA flag bearers for the Olympic Opening Ceremony. The duo led hundreds of American athletes in the Parade of Nations through the Seine, as the U.S. went out second-to-last with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on deck as the next Summer Games.

Having two flag bearers for one country is a new development. Only one athlete from each participating nation was chosen as the flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when a rule change allowed for one male and one female athlete to carry out the distinction.

James and Gauff won't be the only ones to bear the American flag during the 2024 Olympics. Swimming icon Katie Ledecky and rowing gold medalist Nick Mead were named the U.S. flag bearers for the Closing Ceremony, which will be held on Sunday, Aug. 11.

Before Ledecky and Mead lead Team USA to close things out in Paris, here is a look at the company they will join as Olympic flag bearers.

List of flag bearers in U.S. Olympic history

Here are all of the U.S. athletes to carry the flag in an Opening or Closing Ceremony at the Summer and Winter Olympics:

2024 Paris Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: LeBron James, basketball; Coco Gauff, tennis
• Closing Ceremony: Katie Ledecky, swimming; Nick Mead, rowing

2022 Beijing Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: John Shuster, curling; Brittany Bowe, speed skating
• Closing Ceremony: Elana Meyers Taylor, bobsled

2020 Tokyo Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Eddy Alvarez, baseball; Sue Bird, basketball
• Closing Ceremony: Kara Winger, track and field

2018 PyeongChang Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Erin Hamlin, luge
• Closing Ceremony: Jessie Diggins, cross-country skiing

2016 Rio Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Michael Phelps, swimming
• Closing Ceremony: Simone Biles, gymnastics

2014 Sochi Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Todd Lodwick, Nordic combined
• Closing Ceremony: Julie Chu, hockey

2012 London Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Mariel Zagunis, fencing
• Closing Ceremony: Bryshon Nellum, track and field

2010 Vancouver Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Mark Grimmette, luge
• Closing Ceremony: Bill Demong, Nordic combined

2008 Beijing Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Lopez Lomong, track and field
• Closing Ceremony: Khatuna Lorig, archery

2006 Torino Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Chris Witty, speed skating
• Closing Ceremony: Joey Cheek, speed skating

2004 Athens Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Dawn Staley, basketball
• Closing Ceremony: Mia Hamm, soccer

2002 Salt Lake City Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Amy Peterson, short track speed skating
• Closing Ceremony: Brian Shimer, bobsled

2000 Sydney Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Cliff Meidl, canoeing
• Closing Ceremony: Rulon Gardner, wrestling

1998 Nagano Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Eric Flaim, speed skating
• Closing Ceremony: Cammi Granato, hockey

1996 Atlanta Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Bruce Baumgartner, wrestling
• Closing Ceremony: Michael Matz, equestrian

1994 Lillehammer Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Cammy Myler, luge
• Closing Ceremony: Dan Jansen, speed skating

1992 Barcelona Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Francie Larrieu Smith, track and field
• Closing Ceremony: Peter Westbrook, fencing

1992 Albertville Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Bill Koch, cross-country skiing

1988 Seoul Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Evelyn Ashford, track and field

1988 Calgary Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Lyle Nelson, biathlon

1984 Los Angeles Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Ed Burke, track and field

1984 Sarajevo Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Frank Masley, luge

1980 Lake Placid Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Scott Hamilton, figure skating

1976 Montreal Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Gary Hall, swimming

1976 Innsbruck Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Cindy Nelson, alpine skiing

1972 Munich Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Olga Fikotova Connolly, track and field

1972 Sapporo Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Dianne Holum, speed skating

1968 Mexico City Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Janice Romary, fencing

1968 Grenoble Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Terry McDermott, speed skating

1964 Tokyo Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Parry O'Brien, track and field

1964 Innsbruck Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Bill Disney, speed skating

1960 Rome Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Rafer Johnson, track and field

1960 Squaw Valley Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Don McDermott, speed skating

1956 Melbourne Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Norman Armitage, fencing

1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: James Bickford, bobsled

1952 Helsinki Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Norman Armitage, fencing

1952 Oslo Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: James Bickford, bobsled

1948 London Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Ralph Craig, track and field

1948 St. Moritz Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Jack Heaton, skeleton

1936 Berlin Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Al Jochim, gymnastics

1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Rolf Monsen, cross-country skiing

1932 Los Angeles Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Morgan Taylor, track and field

1932 Lake Placid Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Billy Fiske, bobsled

1928 Amsterdam Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Bud Houser, track and field

1928 St. Moritz Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Godfrey Dewey, president of Lake Placid Organizing Committee

1924 Paris Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Pat McDonald, track and field

1924 Chamonix Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Taffy Abel, hockey

1920 Antwerp Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Pat McDonald, track and field

1912 Stockholm Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: George Bonhag, track and field

1908 London Olympics

• Opening Ceremony: Ralph Rose, track and field