Porteous had won a bronze at Pyeongchang 2018 as a 16-year-old, making him the youngest New Zealander to win an Olympic medal, before topping the podium and winning gold yesterday here.

He is set to march in a small group into an the Beijing National Stadium alongside his brother Miguel, who also competed at these Games.

New Zealand's team of 15 won two gold medals and a silver in the country's best showing at the Winter Olympics.

The gold won by Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in slopestyle was New Zealand’s first  in the Winter Olympics.

"It’s a real privilege to get to represent our country and carry the flag, I’ll be waving it with a massive grin on my face." Porteous said.

"Being named flagbearer is the cherry on top of an amazing campaign."

New Zealand's Chef de Mission Marty Toomey paid tribute to the youngster.

"Nico is not only an amazing athlete but also a real leader and inspiration to the rest of the team," he said.

"I look forward to watching him wave the flag with pride as he leads the New Zealand team into the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games,

"It’s great to be celebrating our most successful ever campaign, and I’d also like to acknowledge all those athletes who did not win medals but gave it everything on the field of play as they represented New Zealand.

"This is an extremely challenging time to hold a major international sporting event and the Games organisers have taken every step possible to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our team,"