By TesfaNews,
The 2016 Summer Olympics officially kicked off on Friday night (Aug. 5) with a colourful ceremony at the Macarana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The Eritrean contingent was among the more than 11,000 athletes from 200 countries that were walking the floor during the Parade of Nations.
Athelet Yonas Zekaryas leads Eritrea in to the opening ceremony as flag bearer.
Team Eritrea will be represented at the games by 15 athletes competing in marathon, 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters races as well as cycling.
#Eritrea #Erythree #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016 #Olympics2016 pic.twitter.com/FqKUjYmJU3
— eriswiss.com (@eriswiss) August 6, 2016
The Parade of Nations is always the Games’ first big test of stamina, and with new countries such as Kosovo and South Sudan taking their place in the pageant for the first time, as well as a team of refugee athletes, Rio’s race through the atlas was even more gruelling than usual.
It is tradition for Greece to start the parade and for the host nation (Brazil this year) to close it out.
We wish our athletes the best of luck in the games.
