ANNA MEARES will carry the Australian flag in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Meares is a world champion and Olympic gold medal-winning track cyclist and is an ambassador for the Port Adelaide Football Club.

The announcement was made at Federation Square in Melbourne on Wednesday morning.

Meares, 32, is one of Australia’s most successful athletes, with two Olympic and 11 world championship golds to her name.

She is a five-time Commonwealth Games champion.

At the Rio Olympics, Meares will become the fourth female track cyclist in history to compete in four Olympics.