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DULUTH, Minn. — John Shuster, a native of Chisholm, Minn., will carry the American flag for the United States, along with co-bearer and three-time Olympic speedskater Brittany Bowe, at the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Shuster, a five-time Olympic curler and 2018 gold medalist, is the first curler chosen as a flag bearer for the U.S. at an Opening Ceremony. Flag bearers are elected by fellow Team USA athletes.

The 39-year-old Shuster, who resides in Superior, Wisconsin, also captured a bronze medal during the 2006 Winter Olympics.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Minnesota's Amy Peterson, a short track speed skater, served as Team USA's flag bearer during the opening ceremonies. Cross-country skiing gold medalist Jessie Diggins of Minnesota carried the U.S. flag during the closing ceremonies at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 5:30 a.m. CST Friday and will re-air at 7 p.m., both on NBC.

"Being elected as one of the flag bearers is a tremendous honor," "When thinking back to my Opening Ceremony experiences, I cannot help but be so proud to lead Team USA into an Olympic Winter Games. Joining the incredible group of Team USA leaders, especially since it was chosen by my Team USA teammates, is one of the greatest honors of my sporting career."

Starting at the Tokyo Summer Games held in 2021, a male and female athlete are selected to be co-flagbearers as a nod to gender equity.

The American woman chosen to be the flagbearer is bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, but Meyers Taylor tested positive for COVID earlier this week and is in isolation. Though she still hopes to be able to compete, as she remains asymptomatic and her events don't begin until Feb. 13, she was replaced by Bowe.

Though the countries typically march in alphabetical order by name, the Chinese language does not have an alphabet. Instead, the countries will march in ascending order of the number of strokes in the first Chinese character that forms their name, which will put the United States 56th of 91 marchers.