Ulmer to carry flag for New Zealand

9.30am

MANCHESTER - Champion cyclist Sarah Ulmer will march at the head of the New Zealand team, carrying the flag, in the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Manchester tomorrow.

Ulmer, who won the women's individual pursuit gold medal at Kuala Lumpur four years ago and bronze in Victoria in 1994, was announced as the team flag bearer at a function today in Manchester's brand new Imperial War Museum.

She told the 300-strong team and guests it was an "awesome, awesome honour".

Ulmer, who has also represented New Zealand at two Olympic Games, said her best moments in sport had been at the Commonwealth Games rather than the Olympics or world championships.

"I am absolutely stoked ... Bring on the Games," she said.

New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie said Ulmer was a "strong" choice as flag bearer.

"We wanted somebody who had represented New Zealand with some significance at Commonwealth and Olympic Games and she's done that," Currie told NZPA.

"We have real faith in her, she's a real character and brings some life into the job as well."

Currie confessed he was unaware that Ulmer was the third consecutive cyclist to be given the honour at Commonwealth Games.

"I didn't know that. It was only afterwards that someone reminded me it had been Brian Fowler and Graeme Miller. It was pure coincidence, I didn't realise that tradition was there."

The team were welcomed into the museum, which was officially opened earlier today by the Duke of Edinburgh, by London-based Ngati Ranana Maori culture group.

Among the guests were Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, New Zealand High Commissioner to London Russell Marshall, British-based Olympic gold medal equestrian rider Blyth Tait and actress Elizabeth Dawn who plays Vera Duckworth in the locally produced television show Coronation Street.

Dawn summed up proceedings when she told NZPA: "It were quite emotional."

After the Maori welcome and responses from Maori members of the Games team, gifts were presented to one athlete from each sport in the team by Games legend Sir Murray Halberg.

A giant screen showed messages of support from various other New Zealand sports people, including All Black No 8 Scott Robertson, Tall Black Sean Marks, Black Cap Craig McMillan and Olympic rowing champion Rob Waddell.

The ceremony was rounded off by a stirring rendition of God Defend New Zealand by London-based New Zealand tenor Geoff Sewell, who had sung the British national anthem at the FA Cup and at a Wales-England rugby game, but until today had not sung the New Zealand national anthem in Britain.

- NZPA

Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002

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