Michael Phelps was the U.S. team’s flag bearer at the 2016 Olympic opening ceremony. He carried the American flag into Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium on August 5, 2016.
The selection recognized Phelps’s extraordinary Olympic career. By Rio, he had already won 22 Olympic medals, including 18 golds, across the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games. He added five gold medals and one silver in Rio, finishing with a record 28 Olympic medals.
Phelps was chosen by a vote of fellow U.S. Olympians, making the honor especially meaningful. The ceremony’s closing-ceremony flag bearer was gymnast Simone Biles, so she is a common mix-up. Phelps’s role was ceremonial leadership, not team captaincy or torch lighting.