Kathleen Sharkey controls the ball during the Women's FIH Field Hockey Pro League match against Germany on April 30, 2019 in Moenchengladbach, Germany.
LIMA, Peru – Field hockey player Kathleen Sharkey (Moosic, Pennsylvania) was selected as Team USA’s flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony of the XVIII Pan American Games, to be held July 26 in Lima, Peru, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced today. Sharkey was chosen to receive the honor by fellow Team USA members.
A member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, Sharkey earned a fifth-place finish at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 – the best finish by a U.S. field hockey team at an Olympic Games since 1984. She was previously a striker at Princeton University from 2008-12, notching a school-record 107 goals and 245 points throughout her prolific career. Sharkey joined the U.S. Women’s National Field Hockey Team in 2011, leading the charge of Team USA’s attack ever since.
“I am very honored to be selected as the flag bearer for Team USA at the Opening Ceremony,” Sharkey said. “There are so many amazing athletes here in Peru and to be able to represent Team USA as the flag bearer is an amazing feeling.”
While this is Sharkey’s first appearance at a Pan American Games, she has extensive experience on the international stage. A two-time Pan American Cup medalist, she was a member of the 2014 Champions Challenge and 2017 World League Semifinals gold medal teams.
Starkey is the first field hockey athlete to serve as flag bearer for Team USA at the Pan American Games.
The 2019 Pan American Games will take place from July 26-Aug. 11 in Lima, featuring 6,700 athletes participating in 39 sports and 61 disciplines. Throughout the 17 days of competition, athletes will showcase their talents in 14 different districts of Lima and Callao.
For more information and photos of Team USA at the 2019 Pan American Games, visit TeamUSA.org/Lima2019 and follow @TeamUSA on Twitter.
U.S. Pan American Team Flag Bearers
- 1951 Miguel de Capriles, Fencing
- 1955 Unknown
- 1959 Unknown
- 1963 Unknown
- 1967 Don Schollander, Swimming
- 1971 Linda Metheny, Gymnastics
- 1975 Lones Wigger, Shooting
- 1979 Ann Meyers, Basketball
- 1983 Denise Curry, Basketball
- 1987 Jim Abbott, Baseball
- 1991 Jim Schreiner, Canoe/Kayak
- 1995 Peter Westbrook, Fencing
- 1999 Karen Smyers, Triathlon
- 2003 Carl Eichenlaub, Sailing
- 2007 Danielle Scott-Arruda, Volleyball
- 2011 Jason Read, Rowing
- 2015 Kim Rhode, Shooting
- 2019 Kathleen Sharkey, Field Hockey
About the USOPC
Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee serves as both the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States. The USOPC is focused on protecting, supporting and empowering America’s athletes, and is responsible for fielding U.S. teams for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games, and serving as the steward of the Olympic and Paralympic movements in the U.S. For more information, visit TeamUSA.org.
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