Intro:

Five-time Olympic medallist Laura Flessel arrived with other members of the French fencing team at St Pancras railway station in London on Tuesday (24th July).

Script:

40-year-old epee fencer Laura Flessel arrived in London on Tuesday (24th July) for the Olympic Games.

Currently number one on the all-time list of French female Olympic medal winners with a total of five - Flessel won gold medals in both the individual and team epee during the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Minutes after arriving by train at St Pancras from Paris, Flessel explained her feelings towards flying the flag for France, and her fencing team:

SOUNDBITE: (French) Laura Flessel, French fencer: 
(Q: How do you feel to be carrying the French flag at the Olympic opening ceremony?) 
"First thing is the pride I am feeling. Pride and joy, because it is now twenty-five years that I have spent at this high level. And it's also a responsibility, there are people who are here for the first time, others have been around for some time, so what I feel now is a mix of pride, joy and responsibility."

SOUNDBITE: (French) Laura Flessel, French fencer (What do you expect from the French fencing team?): 
"With this new team? Lots of medals. We came here strong, we will see in the end but everybody is doing fine, working well, we all really want to be on the medal board, it is a great team."

Flessel has also won five World Championships gold medals between 1998 and 2008.