Do you believe in the flag-bearer curse?

As soon as  Simon Whitfield crashed out of the Olympic triathlon competition Tuesday morning, people on news media and social media began talking about the fabled "flag-bearer curse."

In an interview last month before the Games began, Whitfield dismissed any talk of a curse on the carrier of the flag in the Opening Ceremonies, saying five of the last six flag bearers had won medals.



And it's true. Of the last six flag bearers for Canada at Olympic Opening Ceremonies, only judoka Nicolas Gill did not win a medal in the ensuing Games.

Flag bearer Simon Whitfield leads the Canadian contingent in the parade of athletes. But is carrying the flag a curse? (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)However, of the six only hockey player Danielle Goyette and speed skater Catriona Le May Doan won gold in the Games in which they held the flag.

And the "curse" of the flag bearer goes back further than that. Jean-Luc Brassard, the gold medalist in moguls in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway, placed fourth at the Nagano Games where he carried the flag.

The Lillehammer flag bearer was Kurt Browning and he finished fifth in those games, despite winning gold in four previous world championships.

Many on Twitter were convinced that the curse had returned.

Can't believe Whitfield crashed his bike. That flag bearer curse is totally real.

-- Daryl Brewer (@BrewGuy) August 7, 2012

It's official. Being the Canadian Olympic team flag bearer is a curse.

-- Douglas Hunter (@DWHauthor) August 7, 2012

The flag-bearers' curse strikes again...are we sure we wanna endorse Christine Sinclair for that position? #Canada #Olympics

-- Arik Parnass (@HabArik35) August 7, 2012

Do you believe in the flag-bearer curse? Let us know what you think.



(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)