“I am scared to ask LeBron to do something but we’ll see.”
Those are the words of Coco Gauff after she was named the second of two U.S. flagbearers on Wednesday (24 July). Gauff is set to take on the role alongside basketball superstar LeBron James in Friday night’s (26 July) Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Not only is Gauff the youngest – at 20 – American to be named flag-bearer, she’s also the first tennis player to get the honour… and the first true member of Gen Z to do so, too.
And while Gauff has quickly turned into a thought leader in women’s sports over the last couple of years, she’s also never afraid of a trending dance on social media – or to ask others to join in on it.
So, will LeBron say yes?
“I’m going to try my best to get a lot of flagbearer content out there,” Gauff told NBC after the announcement.
“We’ll see,” she said, laughing. She then added that perhaps the American TV network could assist in the ask of James, who Coco said she’s never met but considers a hero: “Maybe, NBC… like, whisper in his ear and then I’ll do it.”
A scroll through Gauff’s TikTok account shows her affinity for a choreographed dance, something tennis fans have long known her for. Gauff never shies away from a solo dance, and often ropes in her family into the gig, including her little brothers Cody and Cameron.
This week, Gauff choreographed the Team USA women’s tennis squad in Paris, with Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Desirae Krawczyk and Danielle Collins walking towards the camera over trending audio.
Collins, who announced she was retiring from the sport earlier this season, stole the clip, with Gauff posting, “Danimal came out at the end,” a nod to Collins’ nickname. See their sage dance moves here.
First appeared on olympics.com