USA flagbearer Coco Gauff hoping new status will help her swap pins with LeBron James

Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff really wants to swap pins with LeBron James, but she is too scared to ask.

Now she may have the perfect excuse.

The basketball superstar and the Olympic tennis rookie will carry the USA flag together at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday, 26 July, and this may just be the perfect pin swapping opportunity the 20-year-old has been waiting for.

“My team is really nagging me about getting pins from him, so I will try and ask him,” Gauff said. “I need six. But I don’t know. I’m kind of scared.

“I’ve watched so many (Miami) Heat games on TV, in person. I’ve seen him in person a couple of times. I never met him, but I would like to say I’ve met him.”

Carrying the flag together with the double Olympic champion is one of the many reasons Gauff is feeling excited about her new role. She will be the first tennis player and the youngest athlete ever to carry the USA flag at an Opening Ceremony, and she is fully aware of the significance of this milestone.

“I wanted to cry when I found out but my whole team was there, so went in the corner and I did it,” Gauff said. “I truly am in shock and I don’t take it for granted and I’m going to try to take it all in and I know this will be a memory I will remember for the rest of my life.”