Rafael Nadal is already an Olympic champion. Now, Nadal will oon be an Olympic leader.
Nadal has been selected as the Spanish flag bearer for this summer Rio Olympic Games.
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"I would like to thank the Spanish Olympic Committee the opportunity to be the standard bearer in the Olympic Games in Rio," Nadal said in a statement posted by RFET. "I am very excited. I hope they will be great games and the entire Spanish team does very well, wish us luck."
Last month, the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee said Nadal should be the nation's flag bearer in Rio because of what the nine-time Roland Garros champion has done for Spanish sport and to make a statement against doping allegations against him.
"Spanish sports owe him a lot," Alejandro Blanco told the Associated Press. "In Beijing, he was the athlete who was followed the most by the international media and by other athletes. Rafa Nadal took Spanish sports to another level.
"I think he should be the flag bearer, especially after how he has been treated. He deserves to feel that Spanish sports care about him."
The King of Clay was selected as Spanish flag bearer for the 2012 London Games, however he suffered a knee injury which sidelined him for the final seven months of that season.
In 2008, Nadal defeated Fernando Gonzalez to win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Photo credit: RFET