Milan Olympic Opening Ceremony Flagbearers Set... Cha Junhwan Included as 80 Countries Reveal Lists

Cha Junhwan, Fontana, and Erin Jackson Named Flagbearers for Milan Opening Ceremony

One day before the opening of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, the list of flagbearers who will carry their national flags and lead their respective delegations into the opening ceremony was released.

At the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, Cha Junhwan served as the flagbearer for the Korean delegation and Jackson Erin served as the flagbearer for the United States delegation.

On the 5th (Korean time), the Organizing Committee announced through the official information site the list of opening ceremony flagbearers for delegations from 80 countries. The opening ceremony will take place at 4:00 a.m. on the 7th, Korean time, at the San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan, Italy.

For the Korean delegation, men's singles figure skating star Cha Junhwan (Seoul City Hall) and women's long-distance speed skater Park Jiwoo (Gangwon Provincial Office) will carry the Korean flag. Both athletes are appearing at their third Olympics, following the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Games.

Host nation Italy has selected a total of four flagbearers in line with the multi-venue hosting format. At the Milan opening ceremony, short track speed skater Arianna Fontana and cross-country skier Federico Pellegrino will lead the way, while at the Cortina d'Ampezzo opening ceremony, curler Amos Mosaner and alpine skier Federica Brignone will each enter carrying the national flag.

Fontana is an iconic figure in Italian short track speed skating, having won 11 Olympic medals from the Turin 2006 Games through the Beijing 2022 Games.

The United States has chosen women's 500 m speed skating Olympic gold medalist Erin Jackson and bobsleigh athlete Franky Del Duca as its flagbearers. Jackson became the first Black woman to win an individual event gold medal at a Winter Olympics at the Beijing 2022 Games.

Japan has selected men's sprint speed skater Morishige Wataru and snowboarder Tomita Sena, while China has chosen short track speed skater Zhang Chutong and speed skater Ning Zhongyan as its flagbearers. France will be led by veteran snowboarder Chloe Trespeuch and men's slalom alpine skiing gold medalist Clement Noel.

For Canada, freestyle skiers Marielle Thompson and Mikael Kingsbury will carry the national flag. At this Games, the return of North American Ice Hockey League (NHL) stars to the Olympics has also drawn attention, with ice hockey players serving as flagbearers for countries such as Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, and Finland.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is making its Winter Olympics debut, has selected alpine skiers Alex Astier and Piera Hudson as its flagbearers. Some countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, have not yet released their flagbearer lists.

At this Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, about 2,900 athletes from 92 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will compete for a total of 116 gold medals across 8 sports and 16 disciplines. The Korean delegation is aiming to win at least 3 gold medals and finish within the top 10 in the overall standings.