Seychelles' Olympics delegation given encouraging send-off by President Ramkalawan
Two first-time Olympians will carry the Seychelles flag at the upcoming 33rd Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11.
Swimmer Khema Elizabeth and sprinter Dylan Sicobo were given the honour of being the flag bearers for Seychelles at the sending-off ceremony for the island nation's delegation.
Only Elizabeth was present as Sicobo is already in France so is swimmer Simon Bachmann, the other Seychellois athlete at the Games, and the only one among the three who had participated in an Olympic Games. Bachmann was part of the five-man team for Seychelles for the Tokyo Olympics.
The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, presented Elizabeth with the Seychelles' flag during the ceremony, and in his address he urged athletes to make the most of this experience.
«I want the athletes to know that we will be following the performance in Paris and when you return, having rubbed shoulders with some of the best in the world, it will definitely enrich your development,» he said.
Ramkalawan also stressed the importance of togetherness in sports and shared his disappointment at the many in-fighting issues in local sports.
«Once and for all, let us not look to compete among ourselves in a federation, but instead look to compete against our opponents,» he added.
As for Elizabeth, she said, «It is a great honour for me to be the flag bearer of Seychelles, especially being a small island and it gives great pleasure to be able to hold our flag high.»
The ceremony was attended by members of the 10-person Seychelles delegation for the Games.
This year's Seychelles' team of three athletes is the smallest group the island nation, in the western Indian Ocean, has ever sent to the Olympic Games.
Elizabeth will compete in the 50m freestyle event on Saturday, August 3, while Sicobo will be running in the 100m race on the same day.
The two athletes join the list of athletes who carried the Seychelles' flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The flag bearers at the last Games in Tokyo, Japan in 2021, were former Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year, sailor Rodney Govinden and swimmer Felicity Passon. Both athletes booked their spots for the Games.
The other athlete that will represent Seychelles at the games is another swimmer, Simon Bachmann, who will compete in the 200m individual medley event on August 1.
This will be the 11th time Seychelles competes at the Olympic Games. The first time was at the Moscow Games in 1980.
The Minister for Family Affairs, Youth and Sports, Marie-Celine Zialor, was also present at the sending-off ceremony. She reiterated what an honour it is to represent the country at such events and asked the athletes to do their best to represent the country positively.
«We will continue to support sports in Seychelles and I remain confident and I will continue to talk about Seychelles winning that first Olympic medal, until the day that we do win it,» she added.
Seychelles' delegation includes the chairperson of the Seychelles Aquatics Federation, Murielle Morgan, swimming coach Barnsley Albert, Wilfred Adrienne for the Seychelles Athletics Federation and the medical officer, Julie Sham-laye.
The head of the delegation is Jeffrey Lagrenade and also part of the delegation will be the vice president and secretary general of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (SOCGA), Michel Bau and Alain Alcindor, respectively.
