The Beaverton fencer may have lost at the Olympics, but she's still a big winner

Mariel Zagunis did Beaverton proud.

Again.

Before she ever stepped foot on the fencing strip for the 2012 London Olympics — she made her first appearance in that capacity yesterday — Zagunis was front and center once more on the world’s biggest stage.

And the fact that Zagunis lost on the first first day of competition — she fell 15-13 to South Korea’s Kim Jiyeon in the tournament semifinals — should do little to tarnish her image as one of America’s best.

On Friday night, Zagunis — a Valley Catholic grad who has won gold in women’s sabre at the past two summer Olympics — played a memorable role in the Opening Ceremonies for the London games. Selected as the flag bearer for the American team by a vote of the U.S. athletes, Zagunis shone as brightly as any star in the galaxy.

Following the team from the United Arab Emirates into London’s Olympic Stadium, Zagunis was positively radiant. Entering the stadium to a cascade of cheers, Zagunis wore her trademark huge smile, the same smile she showed off so famously following her gold-medal victories at the Athens and Beijing Olympics.

As reported by Bob Costas during NBC’s coverage of the opening ceremonies, Zagunis could hardly believe her good fortune in being selected as flag-bearer.

“She tweeted ‘I am speechless and excited and proud beyond belief,’” Costas read.

The scene could not have been more grand. Like all the women on the U.S. team, Zagunis wore the Americans’ blue beret and blue blazer with a white shirt and red tie, and a white knee-length pleated skirt and white shoes.

But much more significant — and more memorable — was Zagunis herself. Wearing that huge megawatt smile, looking up at her country’s flag and waving to the crowd while her long blond hair flowed down over her shoulders, Zagunis was perhaps the best picture that America could have presented to the world.

While she’s not the most famous athlete on the American team (think of Michael Phelps and his dominance in swimming) nor the most easily recognized (think of Kobe Bryant), it was Zagunis who was the perfect choice to lead the American team.

She showed off America’s success, its competitiveness, its openness to and support of women’s athletics, and it enforced the notion that gold medals in any sport are a big deal over here.

NBC certainly seemed to get it, turning its cameras back to Zagunis nine different times during its broadcast of the Americans’ entrance to the Opening Ceremonies.

Behind her were several of the American team’s more famous members, among them Bryant and LeBron James of the men’s basketball team, and sprinter Tyson Gay. While Zagunis held the flag overhead throughout the event, James and several of the other athletes held their cell phones aloft as they entered the stadium, filming this moment that, for many of them, will be a once-in-a-lifetime happening.

None of them, however, will have greater or more vivid memories than Zagunis. As she walked, keeping several steps ahead of the rest of the 529-member U.S. team, rotating the flag pole in her hand to keep it facing the right direction, it appeared that Zagunis couldn’t have wiped the smile off her face if she’d wanted to.

And she didn’t want to.