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Rio 2016 Paralympics: Brad Ness named Australia's opening ceremony flag bearer.

 

Australia has chosen its flag bearer for the 2016 Rio Paralympics opening ceremony, with men’s wheelchair basketball captain Brad Ness receiving the honour.

Ness made his Paralympic debut at Sydney 2000 as the Rollers missed the medals, but has been part of great success with the team ever since.

A silver medal at Athens 2004 was followed by gold in Beijing four years later, with London 2012 bringing about another silver.

The 41-year-old was described as a “fiercely patriotic Aussie” by chef de mission Kate McLoughlin, and Ness was understandably beaming with pride after the announcement.

“I’m pretty speechless, I’m so honoured to have this bestowed upon me,” Ness said.

“Hopefully when I walk out everyone gets behind me, and we can make the rest of the world know we are here.”

A veteran of five Paralympic Games now, Ness has been through plenty of ups and downs on the world’s biggest stage, but he says carrying the flag for his country will be something unlike anything he has experienced.

“This is right up there, I thought I’d experienced every bit of emotion the Games could bring – from winning finals to losing them, and not getting to the finals – but this is completely different. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said.

Ness lost half of his right leg at 18 years old in a boating accident, but has dedicated himself to recovery and his sporting career ever since.

He says he will not use a wheelchair once the opening ceremony gets underway, but will seek council from an experienced flag bearer before the big day.

“I’m definitely going to march, so maybe I’ll have to come up with something,” he said.

“I’ve been joking that I’ll have to give Andrew Gaze a call and find out what he did, he’s been pretty critical of people of late so I don’t want to upset him.”

The opening ceremony will be held on Thursday morning.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

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