Phelps to carry United States flag during Olympic opening

Phelps got word of his selection Tuesday night. “I probably shed a little bit of tears, just of joy”. Back at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Team USA also lived on board a ship. Gary Hall carried the flag at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Competing in every Olympics since 2000, Phelps has earned a record 22 medals, 18 of which are gold. For Beijing (in 2008), I wanted to do something nobody else had done.

Phelps will certainly be hard to miss at the Maracana. While carrying out his flag bearing duties, he will be sporting a special illuminated blazer by Polo Ralph Lauren.

The US Olympic basketball teams will enjoy luxury accommodation on a cruise liner during their time in Rio, as concerns continue over the state of the athletes’ village.

The jacket Michael Phelps will wear as Team USA’s flag bearer on Friday will be, as the kids say, lit. In Rio, security is a tad tighter which can give the players a bit more breathing room.

Given the concerns about the quality of the lodging in the athletes’ village, the US team’s decision seems particularly wise, though it wasn’t made hastily.

In addition to serving as Team USA’s official flag bearer, Phelps will also serve as one of the six captain for the Team USA swim team.

This year, Phelps’ schedule will be reduced from past years.

Meanwhile, Olympic organizers have been dealing with complaints of incomplete or malfunctioning facilities in the dormitory-style apartments that will house the more than 10,000 athletes at the games. After taking a yearlong break, he rediscovered his love of training and competing, sparking a desire to close his career the right way.

Phelps retired after the London Games and made a series of missteps in his personal life, including a second drunken-driving arrest in 2014.

Despite the problems, Brazil is hoping to show the world it can successfully stage another global sporting event, having hosted the football World Cup just two years ago.

IOC President Thomas Bach is asking the full committee to support the decision to reject a complete ban on Russian athletes for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“I’ve always believed that I was best”, he told CNN in 2015.

And we all know how much Phelps likes to light, so I’m sure that social media campaign will go swimmingly.