Twitter has lit up as the gender debate engulfs the question of who will carry the Australian flag at the London Games opening ceremony.
Beach volleyballer Natalie Cook, attending her fifth Games, said this week the appointment of a female flag bearer should be a "no-brainer".
"If there's a male that carries the flag I will sit in protest," she said.
The last woman to carry the Australian flag at an opening ceremony was four-time Olympic diver Jenny Donnet at Barcelona in 1992.
Racehorse owner Campbell Brown tweeted: "Imagine the hysteria it would cause if a male athlete threatened 2 boycott the opening ceremony unless a bloke was chosen to be flag bearer?"
Kayaker David Smith derided the "media beat up" making the selection of flag bearer a gender issue.
He tweeted: "What's this media beat up over our Aus flag bearer, whoever is chosen is the person who deserves it most! Male or female, dosnt (sic) matter."
Chef de Mission Nick Green said he has been pondering it for three years and has yet to make a decision.
"The flag bearer will be the best person to represent this country - simple as that," he said.
He said equestrian rider Andrew Hoy is attending his seventh Games, a record for Australia, while cyclist Stuart O'Grady and shooters Michael Diamond and Russell Mark are attending their sixth.
@grrrouse tweeted, "I really hope the Aus flag-bearer is Leisel Jones or Nat Cook," while @jarrodpotter wrote, "Lauren Jackson is my choice for an Australian woman to carry the Aus flag, like she's done in the states for a decade."
The debate follows the revelation last week that the Australian men's basketball team budget funds to fly business class while the female Opals, who have a higher world ranking, fly economy.
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