Biography:

This Bio was written by Joey Cheek the president and co-founder of Team Darfur. Team Darfur is an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

I am so pleased and grateful that the Save Darfur Coalition is honoring one of Team Darfur's most inspiring members, Lopez Lomong. Lopez will compete for the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing this summer. As a Sudanese refugee, Lopez provides a unique perspective on the crisis in Darfur and frequently speaks out about the need to raise awareness about the genocide because "a lot of people here don't know what was going on in Sudan and I need to send a message as an athlete from Sudan."

Lopez speaks from experience about what it is like to be separated from home and family. At age 6, he was abducted from a Sudanese church by a militia faction that wanted to turn young boys into child soldiers.  He eventually escaped the militia camp through a hole in a fence with three older boys who carried them on their backs as they walked for three days until they reached Kenya, where police arrested them and sent them to a refugee camp. He spent 10 years in the camp, living on one meal a day.

Lopez learned of a program that sought to relocate 3,500 refugees to the U.S. After an interview with a U.S. embassy official, Lopez resettled with a family in New York and attended Northern Arizona University where he began to pursue his Olympic dreams. Now a member of the U.S. Olympic team, Lopez realizes his unique opportunity as an elite athlete to spread awareness about the crisis in Darfur. "As athletes, we need to send the message to the government not to kill or bomb and to China to stop because those guns are not to defend the country, but to kill innocent people. This is the 21st century. We don't want kids growing up in refugee camps like I did.”

Lopez's journey from imprisoned child soldier to Sudanese refugee to member of the U.S. Olympic team has inspired his fellow U.S. Olympic teammates. Philip Dunn, a U.S. Olympic racewalker, told me that "Lopez Lomong represents so many wonderful aspects of the Olympic movement: youth, talent, and an ability to overcome amazing obstacles in life with poise and determination. The movement to bring awareness to Sudanese suffering is well served by someone who has lived through it. As a fellow U.S. Olympic team member, I know I will be more inspired by his life experiences."

Lopez hopes his story will also be an inspiration for Sudanese children. "I’m worried about the kids who are dying in Darfur and South Sudan. The kids don’t have the dream they could be Olympic athletes or doctors. I want those kids to reach what their dreams are. It's not just what's going on between the Chinese government and the Sudanese. It's what's going on with the people. We hope those kids can pursue what their dreams are."

Lopez would like to take his message to the medal podium: "I would hold an American flag and a Sudan flag. It would be a way to say, ‘Here was a victim who had to run away, and look where he is now.’"

Of the more than 2 million people driven from their homes in Darfur, at least one or two could be Olympians. Lopez is clearly proof of that, and I hope that when you read his story and the many challenges he has faced, you are as proud as I am that he will represent us in the Olympics.

You can help support concerned athletes like Lopez by signing up in support of an Olympic Truce for Darfur.  Team Darfur is currently asking world leaders to pressure Sudan for an Olympic Truce during the Olympics; the Olympic Truce calls for the Sudanese government to cease air and ground attacks and to allow aid workers and UN peacekeeping forces into the region.  You can sign up in support at www.TeamDarfur.org/truce, and you can proudly show your support by wearing a Team Darfur sweatband during the Games.  You can purchase Team Darfur gear at www.TeamDarfur.org/thecatalog.

Finished 2nd in Roy Griak meet with the time of 24:18 help the lamberjacks to 11th place finished. came back and finished again in 2nd place finished in pre-nationals meet with the time of 24:14. Two weeks later came back and finished first in bigsky conference compionship in sacramento and help the Lamberjack to 2nd behind webber state university. and finished 2nd in  Mountain regionals which was held in New Mexico Univeristy and Move on to finishing my season with 4th place in NCAA Championships in Indiana.

OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD:

Finished in 4th place in NCAA championship in 800m with the time of 1:47, this is the point whereby i conviced myself that i could do a little bit better.

Finished 19th at Pre NCAA Meet with a time on 24:11
Rounded out NAU's score at Big Sky Conference meet with a 29th place finish and a time of 26:53
Won the Aztec Invitational with a 25:43 mark in San Diego, CA
Was the third NAU finisher and 27th overall at the Mountain Regional, running a 31:39.4 10k

High School: 
Earned nine varsity letters for Tully High School in both cross country and track and field
Was named captain three consecutive years
Finished in 20th-place at Footlocker Nationals
Holds school records in cross country
Was a three-time state champion in track and field
Earned individual New York state crown honors in the men's mile
Holds the section three indoor mile record at 4:10.12
Led both the 4x400 and 4x800-meter relays to state titles
Awarded the prestigious Competitive Sprite Award

Personal:
Lopez Lomong was born on January 1, 1985, in Kimotong, Sudan. He is the son of Robert and Barbara Rogers. Lomong enjoys listening to music. One of his favorite artists is 2Pac Shakur. He plans on majoring in hotel and restaurant management and hopes to have a partnership with a well known hotel like Marriot. His goal is to build a hotel in Africa in order to bring tourists to his birth home and create more of a peaceful environment there. He'd love nothing more than to give people the opportunity to visit the country and interact with the people before prejudging what it may be like there. Also, I would like to thank the Fork Union Military Academy for granting the opportunity for my little young brothers Peter and Alex to come and attend the school in the United States of America.