Winter Games 2026: Pastrňák to carry the Czech flag in Milan, Charvátová in Cortina

David Pastrňák and Lucie Charvátová will carry the Czech flag at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Games. Pastrňák will lead the team in Milan, Charvátová in Cortina d’Ampezzo – a great honour for both top athletes.

David Pastrňák will lead the Czech Olympic team as flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Games. The announcement visibly made the hockey star beam with joy: “I am incredibly proud and very excited. It will be a great honour for me to represent our nation together with all the athletes. Simply fantastic.”

Pastrňák will carry the flag in Milan’s San Siro Stadium. In Cortina d’Ampezzo, biathlete Lucie Charvátová will wave the Czech flag. “I was very surprised, almost overwhelmed, that the athletes chose me. I never expected it – it is a great honour,” explained the biathlete.

Video: Road to Opening Ceremony | MilanoCortina2026

Since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Czech athletes have chosen their flag bearers themselves; since Tokyo 2020, one man and one woman are selected. “First, we check who, based on their sporting programme, can even attend the opening ceremony and wants to carry the flag. Then all athletes select two flag bearers from these candidates,” explained the head of the delegation, Martin Doktor.

This year, the announcement was made by phone: Charvátová received the news while travelling from Val di Fiemme to Antholz, Pastrňák only the next day in Florida, where a Boston Bruins game against the Panthers awaited him.

“We have a tight schedule. After the game, we fly straight back to Boston, and the next day we head to Milan. I am really excited. I have been waiting a long time to represent our nation at the Olympics, and I can hardly wait,” said the 2024 world champion, who is scheduled to arrive in Milan early on the day of the opening.

Charvátová is also looking forward to the ceremony with anticipation. She will travel from Antholz to Cortina, where the Olympic flame will be lit. “Even though we are apart, it will certainly be beautiful. The opening ceremony is the symbol of the Olympic Games. I have followed it since my childhood and have always admired the ceremony and the flag bearers. It is a great honour, but I will also be nervous. I am very excited,” said the biathlete.

Charvátová is well informed about the ice hockey scene: “In winter, it is more difficult for me to follow the NHL. But I love the World Championship in the spring and have plenty of time then, so I mainly follow hockey during that period. And of course, I keep my fingers crossed for David – whenever he is on the ice, it promises success.”


Winter Olympics 2026
6–22 February 2026 | Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo
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Czech Olympic Committee
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