Olympic Star Jagger Eaton Shines as He Delivers Flag to Los Angeles

Jagger Eaton, a two-time Olympic medalist, received the Olympic flag from legendary American sprinter Michael Johnson during the Paris Olympics’ closing ceremonies.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is now officially on the clock.

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris ended with a grand closing ceremony at Stade de France. An Arizona Olympian played a key role in delivering the Olympic flag to the next host city: Los Angeles.

The flag handoff began at Stade de France with Tony Estanguet, a former French Olympian and president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, handing the flag to International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.

Bach then gave the flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who passed it to American gymnast and seven-time gold medalist Simone Biles.

The action star Tom Cruise then made a dramatic entrance, rappelling into the stadium to take the flag from Biles. He mounted a motorcycle, carrying the flag out of the stadium.

The broadcast then switched to a pre-taped segment showing Cruise boarding a plane with the flag and bringing it to the iconic Hollywood sign, which was decorated to resemble the Olympic rings.

Cruise handed the flag to mountain biker Kate Courtney from Marin County, California. Courtney then rode with the flag to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and handed it to four-time gold medalist Michael Johnson, who ran through the streets before giving it to Mesa, Arizona’s own Jagger Eaton.

From Michael Johnson to Jagger Eaton (skateboard) pic.twitter.com/SqVMTIZot7

Eaton then took the flag to Venice Beach, where the live broadcast resumed, and a concert featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre took place.

Eaton, who won a bronze medal in men’s street skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and a silver medal in Paris, has become one of the faces of American skateboarding—a sport invented in California by surfers looking to recreate the experience of riding waves.

Social media praised the Olympic flag delivery to Los Angeles.

“Nobody’s cooler than @TomCruise! What an awesome transition of the Olympic flag from Paris to LA! #Olympics #LA2028 #NBC #Peacock pic.twitter.com/1olVZ4BFfU

“Okay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers closing out the closing ceremonies with Jagger Eaton on a skateboard is pretty awesome,” tweeted offseason champ (@MightyGamecocks).

“Jagger Eaton skating with the Olympic flag in LA. So this is why the skateboarding team left early. Now the Red Hot Chili Peppers are performing,” noted LunarSkye (@LunarSkye).

The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will take place from July 14-30, 2028.

Former Arizona State University swimmer Léon Marchand, who swims for France and won four gold medals in Paris, was also featured in the closing ceremony. He extinguished the Olympic cauldron and brought the flame from the Tuileries Gardens to Stade de France, where Bach blew out the flame.

Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams: The NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, NBA’s Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, and MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Each team has a dedicated home base—be it State Farm Stadium, Footprint Center, or Desert Diamond Arena.

The city also boasts the USL’s Phoenix Rising FC, which plays at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium, alongside hosting multiple major sporting events annually, including college football bowls, the WM Phoenix Open, NASCAR events, and MLB Spring Training.

Stay updated with the latest from 12Sports on their YouTube channel, and catch all the news and stories as they happen.