Nikki Hiltz celebrates with the stars and stripes after qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics. | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Nonbinary and transgender runner Nikki Hiltz was easy to spot in Team USA’s contingent during the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.

When the camera found Hiltz, they were visibly having the time of their life. Despite the rainy conditions, they gave off the kind of energy and enthusiasm that would make any viewer hope they would have that much fun if they ever made the Olympics.

Based on a tweet Hiltz posted in the afterglow, the enthusiasm and good vibes had not dissipated 24 hours later.

“Here’s my official application to be @TeamUSA’s nonbinary flagbearer,” Hiltz wrote, adding three photos and a video proudly waving the stars and stripes as their boat glided along the Seine.

Their tweet was a bit tongue in cheek but upon further reflection, it is also a really great idea.

In each pic, Hiltz flashed a smile that showed that their experience in Paris was living up to everything they had dreamed it would be. Based on that alone, they already had “Face of Team USA” down.

For another thing, Hiltz would be a fantastic addition to the roster of LGBTQ athletes who have been chosen to carry the American flag at the Olympic Games.

Basketball legend and LGBTQ activist Sue Bird was one of Team USA’s flagbearers at the Tokyo Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2021. 

Then the following winter, speed skater Brittany Bowe earned the honor of carrying the flag for the Opening Ceremony at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Additionally, Team USA hockey forward Julie Chu was chosen as a flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony at Sochi 2014, although it’s unclear if she was publicly out at the time. Either way, though, her presence meant that the United States featured an LGBTQ flagbearer during the Games in Russia—a statement in and of itself.

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If Hiltz were to be given the honor of carrying the flag for the Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony, it would shine a spotlight on one of the world’s most prominent nonbinary and trans athletes and provide an important moment of acceptance and representation for those communities.

Not only would it be a tremendous amount of fun, it would immediately become an iconic moment in LGBTQ sports history and elevate Hiltz’s visibility throughout the country.

As we saw every time the telecast showed them celebrating on the Seine, that would be great for everybody.