MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two-time Olympic cycling gold medalist Anna Meares will carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony for the Rio de Janeiro Games on Aug. 5 but has asked her family not to travel to Brazil due to concerns over security and the Zika virus.
Meares was announced Wednesday as the flag bearer and captain of Australia's expected 410-member team. The ceremony was attended by former Seattle WNBA basketball player and now-retired Lauren Jackson, who carried the Australian flag at the 2012 London Games.
Meares' father, Tony, later told Australian Associated Press that the cyclist asked him and his wife, Marilyn, who watched her compete at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, not to make the trip to Rio.