LONDON — LeBron James, a soon-to-be four-time Olympian shooting for his third gold medal, will carry the American flag for the United States delegation during the Paris Games opening ceremony Friday along the River Seine.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Monday in a news release that James had won a vote among nearly 600 members of Team USA to carry the flag. A female athlete was also selected and the committee said that vote would be revealed Tuesday.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” said James, 39,  whose popularity has soared well beyond his country as the face of the NBA and the sport’s all-time leading scorer.

“For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations,” he said. “Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.”

Two other USA Basketball players — Sue Bird in 2021 and Dawn Staley in 2004 — have served as flag bearers. Steph Curry, who is competing in his first Olympics, was also nominated.

James was on the 2004 Olympic team that finished third in Greece, and was co-captain of the “Redeem Team” in 2008 that started the current string of four consecutive Olympic golds for the American men. He last played in the Olympics in 2012 in London, where he and the current American team will play an exhibition Monday night against Germany.

James is Team USA’s all-time leader in assists. He is also a four-time NBA champion and four-time league MVP, and has appeared in more All-Star games (20) than any player in history.

“We will watch with great pride as the flag bearers lead our athletes who are about to embark on a remarkable journey together,” Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the USOPC, said in a release.

The Olympic opening ceremony — the first ever outside a stadium — will start at 7:30 p.m. in Paris (1:30 p.m. in New York) and will be shown live on NBC. Delegations are set to float on barges down the river and exit underneath the Eiffel Tower.

The USOPC said it expected more than 350 of the 592 American athletes to participate in the ceremony.

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(Photo: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP via Getty Images)

River Ryan handed the ball to manager Dave Roberts in the top of the sixth inning Monday night, and as he headed toward the third-base dugout, a crowd of 49,576 in Dodger Stadium rose to applaud the 25-year-old right-hander, who tapped his chest in appreciation of the gesture.

No matter what happened after he departed with the score tied and runners on first and third and one out, it was clear by the crowd’s reaction and the high-fives and handshakes Ryan received in the dugout that his major league debut was a success.

“The ground starts to shake a little bit when everybody gets loud,” Ryan said of the standing ovation. “That was really fun to be a part of.”

Teoscar Hernández then drove the decibel level in Chavez Ravine even higher in the eighth when he knocked in his third run of the game with a two-out single to center field to lift the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

With the score tied 2-2, Kiké Hernández opened the eighth with a fly ball that fell on the warning track between center fielder Heliot Ramos and left fielder Luis Matos for a double.

Giants left-hander Erik Miller struck out Shohei Ohtani, but Will Smith walked. Shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald made a nice diving stop of Freddie Freeman’s grounder up the middle and shoveled the ball with his glove hand to second for the second baseman Brett Wisely for the second out.

San Francisco manager Bob Melvin summoned right-hander Randy Rodriguez to face Teoscar Hernández, who lined a 98-mph 2-and-2 fastball on the outside corner to center to score Kiké Hernández for a 3-2 lead, giving Teoscar 67 RBIs on the season, 27 of them coming with two outs.

Daniel Hudson struck out two of four batters in a scoreless ninth for his seventh save, as the Dodgers extended their win streak to four.

“He’s been fantastic,” Roberts said of Teoscar Hernández. “We’ve said it all year — he just hunts and smells those RBIs, and when you get a guy on second base, he’s trying to drive that run in. That ball was dotted, down and away, at 98 mph. He didn’t try to do too much with it. He just tried to get a base hit. That’s how you win baseball games.”

It helps to get starts like the one delivered by Ryan, who allowed one unearned run and four hits in 5⅓ innings, striking out two and walking three for a no-decision, the longest start by a Dodgers pitcher since Tyler Glasnow went six innings on July 5.

Ryan, who was drafted as a two-way player by San Diego in 2021 but gave up shortstop after the Dodgers acquired him for utility man Matt Beaty in the spring of 2022, had never pitched into the sixth inning in any of his 45 minor league starts, but he faced three batters in the sixth Monday night.

Using a six-pitch mix headed by a lively fastball that averaged 96.1 mph and topped out at 98.4 mph, Ryan threw a scoreless first inning despite walking Jorge Soler and giving up a single to LaMonte Wade Jr. to open the game.

After San Francisco scored its only run off Ryan on a Smith passed ball in the fourth, Ryan struck out Mike Yastrzemski with a 95-mph cut-fastball with runners on second and third to end the inning.

Left-hander Alex Vesia bailed out Ryan in the sixth, striking out Matos with a 91-mph fastball and Matt Chapman with a 93-mph fastball to escape the first-and-third jam.

“He was commanding the baseball, attacking guys,” Smith said of Ryan. “I know he was a little nervous before the game, but he settled right in after the first and gave us 5⅓ innings. That was really good.”

Ryan, the brother of Pittsburgh reliever Ryder Ryan, is the third rookie starter — not counting Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto — to pitch well for the Dodgers after making his big-league debut this season, following Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski.

“It’s been huge,” Roberts said of the rookie contributions. “They’ve allowed us to sustain winning while at the same time cutting their teeth and gaining experience. That’s kind of the best of both worlds, where a lot of times you just don’t have that.”

With Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw coming off the injured list this week, Ryan’s stay with the Dodgers is expected to be short. But he will likely get at least one more start.

“That’s the thought right now,” Roberts said. “He’s not going anywhere tonight. It’s day to day, but I think for him, the message is just to plan for making his next start with us.”

Teoscar Hernández had three of his team’s six hits, his first coming when he golfed a down-and-in slider from Giants left-hander Blake Snell 411 feet into the left-field seats for his 21st home run, a solo shot that tied the score 1-1 in the fourth.

Teoscar Hernández runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 3-2 win over the Giants on Monday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Freeman walked with two outs, took second on Snell’s wild pitch and scored on Teoscar Hernández’s single to center.

San Francisco tied it 2-2 on Fitzgerald’s solo homer to left-center field off left-hander Ryan Yarbrough in the top of the seventh, but Teoscar Hernández answered again in the eighth.

“At the beginning of the season, I was not really good with men in scoring position,” said Hernández, who is seven for 17 with two homers since winning the All-Star Game Home Run Derby on July 15. “I think it was because I was trying to do too much, trying to overswing, trying to cover the whole plate.

“Now, it’s more having a plan and executing it the way I want to execute, sticking with it even if I don’t get the job done. … I try not to not put more pressure on myself and to calm myself down. I want those at-bats. I like to be in those situations.”

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Short hops

Roberts said Miguel Rojas, who was pulled from Sunday’s game in the fourth inning because of right forearm tightness, an injury that stems from the shortstop taking one-handed swings with a weighted bat over the All-Star break, is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday night. … Bobby Miller, who gave up three hits, struck out four and walked four over five scoreless innings for Oklahoma City on Saturday, will make at least one more triple-A start before being considered for a return to the Dodgers’ rotation. … Reliever Ryan Brasier (right-calf strain) will throw to hitters in Dodger Stadium again Tuesday, and the right-hander is scheduled to begin a rehabilitation stint with Oklahoma City on Saturday.

Follow our Olympics coverage in the lead-up to the Paris Games.

In April, Bruce Gemmell received a phone call from someone who had changed his life more than a decade ago. They text frequently, so it wasn’t strange to hear from her. But what she asked of him made him laugh.

Katie Ledecky’s first question was quintessential Katie: Hey, I’m coming home to Maryland for a few days in May. Can I train with you?

An easy yes from her old swim coach.

Then: Oh, by the way, when I’m home, I’m going to the White House to get the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I’m hoping you’d be free to come as my guest. I don’t want to impose or anything.

“She really said it that way,” Gemmell said, chuckling. “I said, ‘Yes, of course, I would love to go.’”

Heading into the day, he figured the coolest part would be meeting President Joe Biden; Gemmell is a Delaware native, and his wife had interned for then-Senator Biden at one point. It’d be a nice little full-circle moment.

But Gemmell’s main takeaway was something different, something far more significant to the man who had trained the most dominant female swimmer in the sport’s history during her most dominant stretch, starting after the London Olympics and running through the Rio Games. He started working with her when she was 15, very quiet and even more shy.

And he watched 27-year-old Katie Ledecky work the room, taking photos with those who asked and speaking with people from all walks of life.

“She was the star of the show as far as I’m concerned — maybe sharing it with Nancy Pelosi,” Gemmell said. “It was absolutely a sign of growth from that somewhat awkward, not-socially-competent 15-year-old who burst on the scene in London to win an Olympic gold medal.

“Watching her evolution from 15 to 27, being in complete control of a room with all these powerful, rich politicians and dignitaries, it’s just heartwarming to see that with her. And during that same period of time, my daughter has gone from a little child, toddler type of thing to somebody who is now powering around the world to swim meets with Katie Ledecky.”

Gemmell’s daughter, Erin, who was 7 when Ledecky began training with her father, is on the U.S. Olympic team alongside her. The little girl who once dressed up as Katie Ledecky for Halloween qualified to be part of the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay with her. Erin, now 19, punched her ticket by finishing fourth in the 200-meter freestyle event in Indianapolis — the top four finishers automatically qualify — and as she looked up at the video board to confirm she’d just made her first Olympic team, Ledecky swam across two lanes with a big smile to hug her.

Now that is a full-circle moment.

Katie Ledecky, right, embraces Erin Gemmell after the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials. Gemmell has long looked up to Ledecky, who was once coached by Gemmell’s dad. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

“She’s been such a big influence,” Erin said. “I don’t think I would really be here if it weren’t for her. It’s really special to be able to be that close to someone who is so inspirational, getting to see the day-to-day work that they put in. It makes it seem more achievable in a way, being so close. It makes them seem a lot more human.”

When Erin met Ledecky, she was “terrified” of her. Erin also characterizes herself as “definitely an annoying child,” so she can’t believe how kind and welcoming Ledecky was to her. And though her older brother, Andrew, has Olympic experience as a swimmer and her dad has plenty of it as a coach, Erin can’t believe how lucky she is to experience Paris and the lead-up alongside Ledecky.

Her father can’t believe his luck, either. Erin isn’t one to send photos or updates from training camp — Team USA trained in North Carolina and later in Croatia — but Ledecky will send selfies of the two. Ledecky is not just Erin’s role model; she’s basically her older sister. She’s in charge of parent updates, and Erin is in charge of nail painting.

“Katie is (in) the top very small number of swimmers, probably the best female ever,” Bruce Gemmell said. “But her qualities as an individual are at another level. I say that fondly … with tears in my eyes.”

Ledecky herself has always understood her power and influence. It’s part of the reason she was quiet and shy for so long; that’s who she is, but it’s also how she wanted to come across to the world. She’s a serious woman with big goals she has spent her entire career working toward. And she’s not anywhere near the finish line yet. She has said she plans to compete at age 31 in the Los Angeles Olympics, which would be her fifth Games.

But even now, with the Paris Games just days away, she knows she is already a veteran on the national team. On the women’s side alone are two 17-year-olds (Alex Shackell, Claire Weinstein), an 18-year-old (Katie Grimes, who qualified in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle and the open-water event) and Erin. The average age of the women’s team is 22.1 years old.

Ledecky is also one of the most accomplished female Olympians, with seven gold medals. In Paris, she could break the record held by gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won nine gold medals for the Soviet Union in the 1950s and ’60s. Ledecky is the favorite in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events, so to break the record she would need only an upset win in either the 4×200-meter freestyle relay (Australia will be the favorite) or the 400-meter freestyle (Aussie Ariarne Titmus and Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh are the top contenders).

Katie Ledecky shows off her gold medal from the 800-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She’ll be favored in that and the 1,500-meter again in Paris. (Oli Scarff / AFP via Getty Images)

At Ledecky’s peak in Rio de Janeiro, she won gold in events as short as the 200 free. Recovery looked different at age 19, too. But Ledecky doesn’t see medals that aren’t silver or gold as a failure. She finds value in the work itself — and in her own consistency.

“I pride myself on that consistency,” Ledecky said. “I challenge myself to stay consistent. Yeah, I mean, sometimes it can be tough feeling like you’re not having a breakthrough. But to be really consistent is something I’m really happy with. I’ve learned to just really enjoy each day of training and take in every moment and just appreciate the fact that I’ve been able to have this long of a career, stay injury-free, stay pretty healthy, be able to do this for this many years.”

She has also embraced her role as an elder statesman of the sport. She’s the one who darts over to find the Erins of the world to celebrate with them. She said her favorite message to her first-time Olympian teammates is the one she received from her first coach, Yuri Suguiyama, ahead of London in 2012. He told her she deserved to be on that team, she earned it and she belonged. That’s been Ledecky’s message to her younger teammates: You belong.

Ledecky remembers what it was like to be young and in love with swimming, not knowing where it could take you. She knows what that amazement feels like; she knows some of her teammates might even be intimidated by being on a roster alongside her. But she keeps perspective. She paints her nails red, white and blue. She sends selfies, commemorating the little and the big moments. That’s how she got here, at the precipice of even more history.

“I never dreamed of that as a young kid, to make an Olympics,” Ledecky said. “So, after London … I wanted to get back to that level to prove that I wasn’t just a one-hit wonder. But at the same time, I reminded myself that anything more than that was like icing on the cake, cherry on top, whatever. Because, again, I just never thought I’d make it to that one Olympics.

“That’s the perspective that I think I’ve been able to maintain, that keeps me focused and keeps me enjoying the sport so much while enjoying the teammates and the people that are around me.”

GO DEEPER

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(Top illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; photo of Katie Ledecky: Al Bello / Getty Images)