Monobob bronze medallist Kelsea Purchall will have the honour of carrying the union flag into tonight’s Closing Ceremony of the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Games.
Purchall, who was selected from Team GB’s 16 strong athlete delegation by Chef de Mission Adam Pengilly, will round off her Games with Flagbearer duties following her podium success yesterday.
The 17-year-old from Exeter won Team GB’s fourth medal of the Games with the team collecting five in total from their time in Lillehammer.
Madi Rowlands collected gold and bronze in the ski halfpipe and slopestyle, Ashleigh Pittaway continued Team GB’s skeleton success with gold in the women’s event and Ross Whyte won silver alongside China’s Yu Han in the curling mixed doubles.
Kelsea Purchall said: “I’m shocked and didn’t expect to be selected at all. I’ve just tried to be my normal self this week and support everyone but this is a great end to the Games.
“The whole experience has been really overwhelming. Everyone on team has got on really well, been supportive of each other and performed fantastically – it’s just been brilliant fun.
“I think I’ll remember the people the most. I didn’t expect to become friends with so many people from different sports and nations and it highlights what a fantastic stepping-stone this event is up to senior level.”
Chef de Mission Adam Pengilly said: “Kelsea has been a leader. She engages and supports the team not just in her own sport but also across the whole of Team GB.
“We talked at the start of the Games about athletes learning from this opportunity, gaining experience from an Olympic environment and performing to potential and Kelsea has done all of those things. It was great to see her achieving her goal of a medal in the monobob while still wanting to stand on top of the podium.
“Kelsea very much embodies what Team GB and the Youth Olympic Games are all about and she has embraced this opportunity. It was a very hard decision but she is fully deserving of the honour to be our Closing Ceremony Flagbearer.”