US Olympic Flag Bearer 2012: Mariel Zagunis the Perfect Candidate for the Honor

Fencing champion Mariel Zagunis has every quality a country could want in a flag bearer and she will make the United States proud at the 2012 London Olympics from the opening ceremonies through to the end of the games.

Zagunis is a two-time gold medalist in the women’s individual sabre event. She won the competition for the first time in 2004, when she was just 19 years old. She defended her title four years later in Beijing and has an excellent shot to win again this summer.

There are a few angles a country could consider when deciding who will lead its team of athletes at the Parade of Nations.

One way to choose is simply to hand off the country’s colors to the most famous athlete. This was the strategy used by Serbia (Novak Djokovic), Russia (Maria Sharapova) and Jamaica (Usain Bolt).

Then there’s China and Spain’s ploy to simply put the tallest person possible at the front to attract attention. Yi Jianlian carried the Chinese flag and Pau Gasol hoisted the Spanish symbol. Both men are seven feet tall.

Tall athletes are not the only ones who attract attention, and Luxembourg’s Marie Muller caught the eye of many in the crowd, despite being just 5’4”. The “most beautiful athlete available” strategy rarely fails to impress.

But there are often other motivations for choosing a flag bearer, besides simply attracting attention. Many choose an athlete who has had a prolific career and will almost certainly continue his or her success in the coming days.

Japanese wrestler Saori Yoshida earned the honor as flag bearer by winning every major international competition of her career, including the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Great Britain’s Chris Hoy, who won three cycling gold medals in Beijing, is another example of a flag bearer whose career has made them an obvious choice.

The United States Olympic committee is lucky enough to have a beautiful blonde who is also the world’s most dominant force in her sport. She may not be as famous as LeBron James or Michael Phelps, but her competitive spirit embodies everything about the American’s athletic mindset.

Zagunis doesn’t just want to be the best, she wants to stay that way. She said the following, via Vicki Michaelis of USA Today.

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"It's one thing to be a two-time Olympian. It's another thing to be a two-time Olympic gold medalist and going into your third consecutive Olympic Games with those expectations behind you. It makes me train harder every single day than I ever have."

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Zagunis is exactly who should be representing the United States. She is a dominant athlete who constantly strives for perfection of her craft. 

She calls attention to the sports that do not get attention and shows how many different sports the United States can dominate.

Zagunis is completely deserving of the honor and there is no American in London more fit to represent the country.