August 23, 2008 

Khatuna Lorig Selected as Flag Bearer for 2008 U.S. Olympic Team at Closing Ceremony

BEIJING, China -- The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) announced today that archer Khatuna Lorig (West Hollywood, Calif.) has been selected as flag bearer for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team at the Closing Ceremony by fellow members of Team USA. To select the flag bearer, U.S. captains from each sport met in the Athlete Village Friday.

"Being named the U.S. flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony is almost like winning a gold medal, maybe even better," Lorig said. "I thought I could win a gold medal in competition, but I never thought I'd have this opportunity. I am truly, truly so proud to be an American citizen and part of the U.S. Olympic Team."

Lorig has the very rare designation of representing three different countries in the Olympic Games. She represented the Unified Team of the former Soviet Union at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where she won the bronze medal in the team competition. She competed for Georgia at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., USA, and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. She immigrated to the United States and missed out on the 2004 Olympic Games as she was not yet a U.S. citizen. She received her citizenship in 2005 and competed in her fourth Olympic Games in 2008, representing the USA.

In Beijing, Lorig advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's individual elimination round with an upset over the No. 10 seed Ana Maria Rendon of Columbia. Lorig, the 26th seed, fell to world record holder Yun Ok-Hee of Korea, who went on to win the bronze medal.

Lorig was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and currently trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. She works at The Home Depot as a part of the Olympic Job Opportunities Program (OJOP). Lorig is married to fellow archer Archil Onashvili and the two have a son, Levani Onashvili, who is 15. She and her husband hope to compete together at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

"I will do my best to represent archery and the U.S. Delegation both at the Closing Ceremony and afterwards to hold up the responsibilities deserving of this great honor," Lorig said. "I wouldn't want to compete for any other country. I send my best wishes to everyone on the U.S. Team."

U.S. OLYMPIC FLAG BEARERS - CLOSING CEREMONY
Year     U.S. Flag Bearer (Sport)
1988     Evelyn Ashford (Athletics)
1992     Peter Westbrook (Fencing)
1996     Michael Matz (Equestrian)
2000     Rulon Gardner (Wrestling)
2004     Mia Hamm (Soccer)
2008     Khatuna Lorig (Archery)

From U.S. Olympic News 23 August 2008