New Zealand will have two flagbearers at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing on Friday.
Freeski slopestyle and big air athlete Finn Bilous and alpine ski racer Alice Robinson will lead the team out.
"Alice and Finn embody the spirit and mana of our Winter Olympic team," said team chef de mission Marty Toomey.
"They are great athletes who are trailblazers for their sports in New Zealand and role models for aspiring Kiwi athletes. They are both leaders off the field of play in both the sporting and wider community."
"We look forward to watching them wave our flag with pride as they lead the New Zealand Team into the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games tomorrow evening in Beijing."
It will mark the first time a male and female athlete have jointly carried the New Zealand flag at a Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony, with a recent change in Games regulations allowing for the naming of both a male and a female flagbearer.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The pair will carry a single New Zealand flag between them as they take part in the parade of nations. They follow in the footsteps of Sarah Hirini and David Nyika who shared the role at Tokyo 2020.
Bilous, 22, from Wanaka and Robinson ,20, from Queenstown were both thrilled and incredibly proud to be carrying the flag.
"This is an extremely special moment for me, my team, and my family and it means so much to be given the opportunity to carry the flag," said Robinson.
"I'm really looking forward to representing our beautiful country in the Opening Ceremony and I can't wait to put the fern on and get into competition."
Bilous added, "this is a pretty unreal, I'm extremely proud to be one of our flagbearers and I'll be waving that thing with a massive grin on my face."
Finn Bilous Photo: Photosport
"If you look back over New Zealand's Olympic flagbearers, it's an amazing list of people and I'm super honoured to be adding my name to that list."
Robinson was presented with Te Māhutonga, the New Zealand team's Kākahu (cloak) by Chef de Mission Marty Toomey in Yanqing, the venue for the Alpine Ski Racing events that she will be competing in.
The 20-year-old became New Zealand's youngest Winter Olympian in history when she competed at the last edition of the Winter Olympic Games, PyeongChang 2018.
She stunned the ski racing world when the following year she won her first World Cup event in 2019 at just 17 years old, the youngest woman from any nation to win at Sölden and New Zealand's first alpine World Cup win since 1997.
Since then, Robinson has gone on to take the at win two additional prestigious World Cup Giant Slalom races in Slovenia and Switzerland.
Bilous will tomorrow also be presented with a Kākahu to be worn in the Opening Ceremony.
The second cloaking ceremony will take place in front of Olympic teammates at the Beijing Olympic Village.
Bilous is also competing at his second Winter Olympic Games.
The pair will march tomorrow alongside New Zealand's freeskiers Ben Barclay, Margaux Hackett and biathlete Campbell Wright as well as some coaches and team support.
New Zealand will be represented by 15 athletes in Beijing competing across five sports, including Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous, bronze medallists from PyeongChang 2018.
Competition for the New Zealand Team begins on Saturday, with Zoi Sadowski Synnott and Cool Wakushima in action in the women's snowboard slopestyle.
-RNZ
