Freeski slopestyle and big air athlete Finn Bilous (Olympian #1372) and alpine ski racer Alice Robinson (Olympian #1383) have been named as the New Zealand Team flagbearers for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
The pair were formally announced as Nga Pou Hapai (flagbearers) by Chef de Mission Marty Toomey in China today.
“Alice and Finn embody the spirit and mana of our Winter Olympic team,” said 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 (Te Pou Hapai Wahine, Te Pou Hapai Tane) 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. 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, Wānaka) and Alice (20, Queenstown) say they’re thrilled and incredibly proud to be carrying the flag and leading the New Zealand Team into the Opening Ceremony.
“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.”
“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, the Sölden (AUT) season opener 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 an exquisite 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. At PyeongChang 2018 he came tantalisingly close to competing in the finals, just 0.8 points off that 12th place in the qualification round.
The pair will march tomorrow alongside New Zealand’s biathlon, freeski slopestyle and big air athletes, and New Zealand team support members. The Opening Ceremony will take place according to strict Covid-19 protocols.
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.
The flagbearer is chosen by the New Zealand Olympic Team Chef de Mission taking into account a wide range of factors including past performances, ability to lead and inspire New Zealand athletes, competition preparation, performance standards and during Games time, competition, preparation and performance obligations.
About Te Mahutonga
The kakahu (cloak) is worn only by the flagbearer of New Zealand Olympic teams and is a symbol of the Maori traditions at the core of our unique team culture. It was first worn at Athens in 2004. Te Mahutonga (Southern Cross) was presented to the New Zealand Olympic Committee by the Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, in 2004. The kakahu has been entirely hand woven and took seven months of concentrated work to complete, led by masterweaver and kuia Ranui Ngarimu. The cloak is not just an exquisite work of art, but a mantle of leadership too. A second exquisite cloak has also been more recently loaned to the team by Ranui Ngarimu and worn alongside Te Mahutonga at the Opening Ceremonies in Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and now Beijing 2022.