Bond flags ceremony

A last-minute change to the rowing schedule saw Hamish Bond hand over his flag-bearing duties at last night’s Olympic opening ceremony to David Nyika.

The double Olympic rowing champion was told only hours before the ceremony, not scheduled to finish until 2.30am, that the heats of the eights had been changed to today at 3.10pm.

“Unfortunately, this late and unexpected change means I’ve had to make a very tough decision,” said Bond. “Although being flagbearer is a huge honour, ultimately I came to Tokyo to compete and that means I need to prioritise being in the best possible condition for racing [today].”

Double Commonwealth Games champion boxer Nyika shared the flag-bearing duties with women’s rugby sevens skipper Sarah Hirini.

“This is a huge honour and there’s so many athletes who are deserving of this privilege, it’s really special and I’m super proud,” said Nyika.