Rower Dara Alizadeh will carry the Bermuda flag when the Olympic Games begin in earnest with the opening ceremony in Tokyo in five days’ time.

Alizadeh, who will make his Olympic debut hours earlier in the single sculls heats, will be accompanied by Brenda Dale, the chief de mission.

Triathlete Flora Duffy, the second and more illustrious member of the Bermuda squad, does not arrive in Tokyo until Friday.

While there was every intention for each country to have co-flag bearers — one male and one female — “the lengthy process of testing required upon arrival will preclude her participation in this start of the Games,” the Bermuda Olympic Association said in a statement.

Duffy comes into the Games as Bermuda’s best bet to win an Olympic medal since heavyweight boxer Clarence Hill captured bronze in Montreal 45 years ago.

She races next Monday at 6.30pm Bermuda time.

Alizadeh, meanwhile, takes to the water at the Sea Forest Waterway in Uminomori, Koto-ku on Thursday at 8.30pm. His competition continues through to July 30.