Aug. 5, 2016
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — On Friday night, the opening ceremony for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad will officially get things from the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.
Michael Phelps will become the first athlete to carry the Team USA flag in the Parade of Nations since Mariel Zagunis had the honor in 2012 (London).
Watch: Zagunis reflects on leading Team USA in the Parade of Nations in 2012.
Watch: Here’s a TODAY Show segment with Zagunis and the 2016 U.S. sabre squad.
Today | August 5: No current/former Notre Dame student-athletes are in action today.
Next Up | August 6: Saturday will be a busy day for Notre Dame’s contingent at the Rio Games:
— Fencing: Kelley Hurley and Courtney Hurley take to the strips in the individual women’s epee competition, which begins at 8:00 a.m., while the medal round is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. (online streaming). Kelley and Courtney have combined for seven All-America citations, five Olympic appearances, three individual NCAA Championships and two Olympic bronze medals.
— Women’s Soccer: Melissa Tancredi and Team Canada are back in action with a 2:00 p.m. game versus Zimbabwe (NBC Sports Live Extra).
— Women’s Basketball: Natalie Achonwa and Team Canada open play with a game against China (online streaming). It will mark Achonwa’s second consecutive Olympic Games appearance.
— Both former student-athletes turned assistant coaches at Rio will open play with their respective teams tomorrow as well. Angie Harris Akers and the Netherlands beach volleyball team of M. van Iersel and M. Meppelink will take on a team from Venezuela at 5:30 p.m. (online streaming), while Monty Williams and the U.S. Men’s Basketball team will play China at 6:00 p.m. (NBCSN).
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Complete schedules for when the athletes with Notre Dame ties will be competing can be found at UND.com/Rio. Join the conversation on social media and support the Irish using #OlympicND.
Fans can also subscribe to the Irish in Rio calendar, which features detailed information about Notre Dame athletes, alumni and coaches as they compete in the upcoming Rio Olympic games. Subscribers will receive device alerts before each athlete competes, television information (if applicable) and a link to stream the competition from NBC’s Olympics website. This calendar is the best way to keep up with the Irish as they represent their countries and Notre Dame in Rio.
Fans can subscribe to the calendar with only a few clicks, and updated information will automatically be set to your device as it becomes available:
The networks and digital platforms of NBC will present an unprecedented amount of coverage, including the most live event coverage of any Olympic Games. All Olympic competition will be live streamed through NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.
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Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and men’s golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).