LGBTQ+ wheelchair tennis superstar Lucy Shuker named as Paralympics flag-bearer

LGBTQ+ wheelchair tennis player Lucy Shuker has been named as a flag-bearer at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Lucy Shuker, who is one of Britain’s most successful wheelchair tennis players, will follow the lead of fellow LGBTQ+ sporting icon Tom Daley, who was named alongside Helen Glover as Team GB’s flag-bearers for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony back in July.

The 44-year-old will be joined by wheelchair basketball player Terry Bywater. The pair will carry the British flag at the Paralympics opening ceremony on the evening of Wednesday (28 August) at Place de la Concorde. 

Lucy Shuker has competed in every summer Paralympics since 2008 in Beijing, winning a silver medal in Tokyo.

‘It’s humbling’

She said of the opportunity, as reported by BBC News: “It’s an incredible honour. When I was asked to be put forward, I thought that’s as good as it gets. But when I found out a couple of days ago, it’s mindblowing.

“To be nominated and voted for by team-mates makes it even more important, it’s humbling. We have athletes who have won gold medals, achieved far more than me, so to be selected, all I can say is thank you to them.”

Both Shuker and Bywater were voted for by their teammates which Penny Briscoe, ParalympicsGB chef de mission for Paris 2024, said “underlines just how much both athletes epitomise the Paralympic values that we as a team are so proud of”. 

In an interview with LTA, Lucy Shuker said she doesn’t like to publicly label her sexuality, claiming she had “fallen in love with someone [who] happens to be a woman”, but doesn’t “necessarily feel that people have to be stuck in a label”.

The Paralympics will run from Thursday (28 August) until 8 September in Paris. 

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