Former Zag Rui Hachimura to be flag bearer for Japan
A worker walks through the front entrance of National Stadium Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Tokyo, one month before the July 23 opening of Tokyo Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics, already delayed by the pandemic, are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public. They are caught between concerns about the coronavirus at a time when few are vaccinated on one side and politicians who hope to save face by holding the games and the International Olympic Committee with billions of dollars on the line on the other.
TOKYO — Former Gonzaga Bulldog Rui Hachimura will be one of two flag bearers for Japan at the 2021 Summer Olympics.
Wall Street Journal senior sports reporter Rachel Bachman shared the announcement Sunday.
Hachimura will be joined by women’s wrestler Yui Susaki.
The former Zag was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft and played for Gonzaga from 2016-2019. During his time in Spokane, Hachimura went to a national championship game and had an Elite Eight appearance. Hachimura won the Julius Erving Award, WCC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American selection his junior year.
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