Uruguay’s president receives national Olympic squad

Montevideo (Uruguay) July 21 (IANS) Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez presented the official banner that the country's flag-bearer will carry at next month's opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Sailor Dolores Moreira, 17, accepted the flag during a reception for all the members of Uruguay's Olympics delegation on Wednesday, reports Efe.

Offering "heartfelt" congratulations to the entire squad, the president directly addressed Moreira about the "huge distinction" of carrying the Uruguayan flag at the inauguration of the 2016 Games.

Vazquez wished the athletes "the best of luck" and hailed them as "an example for Uruguayan youth."

He also praised Uruguayan Olympic Committee chairman Julio Cesar Maglione and national Sports Director Fernando Caceres for their "enormous work and effort."

Moreira, selected as standard-bearer by a unanimous vote of the UOC, won a silver medal in the women's laser radial category in the 2015 Pan American Games.