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Posted: 2022-02-20 01:33:45

Three-time Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim will carry the flag for Australia at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony.

Kennedy-Sim will lead Australia's 10 other remaining athletes at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing.

Australia's other athletes competing at these Games have all since departed China, including all four medallists.

The 33-year-old finished in eighth place in the ski cross race earlier in the week, equalling her best-ever finishing position at an Olympics from PyeongChang.

"I was delighted when [chef de mission Geoff Lipshutt] asked me if I would represent the team tonight," she said.

"It's something I've actually dreamed about for a long time.

"Watching athletes marching in ceremonies is such an important part of how sport unifies us as a world and as a country as well, so to get this opportunity feels so special."

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The best pictures from this year's Beijing Winter Olympics.

Kennedy-Sim, who quipped that she would need to look up some YouTube tutorials on who best to wave a flag, said it was too early to think about whether she would continue competing over the next Olympic cycle.

"It is starting to feel a bit like my Olympic lap of honour," she said.

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"Staring down the barrel of another four years is always a tricky one, and it was a lot easier four years ago.

"Nothing is ever off the cards. I will continue to represent my sport and my country over the next month."

Kennedy-Sim, who has never been to an opening ceremony but has marched in each of the closing ceremonies, said the passing of the baton to the next venue was inspiring.

"I found in Sochi when Korea did their show about their culture … that really motivated me for the next four years and the same thing happened when I was sitting in that closing ceremony in PyeongChang," she said.

Lipshutt said he took Kennedy-Sim's entire career into account when selecting who should be flag-bearer.

"Sami really deserves this honour. She'll be the standard bearer for our team tonight, but she has been the standard bearer for her sport in our country for many years," he said.

"Sami has been keeping her sport going in our country. She's been putting herself out there, training, travelling, making sacrifices.

"In choosing Sami, I thought about her whole career. She struggled at her first Games in Sochi, put that behind her."

Australia's Sami Kennedy-Sim embraces Sweden's Lisa Andersson after a women's ski cross quarterfinal
Kennedy-Sim's (right) experience in Pyeongchang in 2018 inspired her to create a legacy for the next generation of winter athletes.(AP: Gregory Bull)

The Beijing Games has been Australia's most successful Winter Olympics all time, with four medals won.

Jakara Anthony won a spectacular gold in the women's moguls at the start of the two weeks of competition.

Scotty James and Jackie Narracott won silver in the snowboard half-pipe and skeleton respectively.

Tess Coady claimed bronze in the snowboard slopestyle.

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