Former 'Lost Boy' Lomong chosen to carry U.S. flag

Associated Press

DALIAN, China -- Eight years ago, Lopez Lomong didn't even have a country. Now he'll be carrying the flag for his adopted nation, leading the U.S. Olympic team at opening ceremonies Friday night. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, won a vote of team captains Wednesday to earn the honor of leading America's contingent into the 90,000-seat Bird's Nest Stadium.

The 1,500-meter track runner will be the flagbearer only 13 months after becoming a U.S. citizen.

"It's more than a dream," Lomong said in an interview with The Associated Press moments after he got the news. "I keep saying, I'm not sure if this is true or not true. I'm making the team and now I'm the first guy coming to the stadium and the whole world will be watching me carry the flag. There are no words to describe it."

He was born in Sudan, separated from his parents at the point of a gun at age 6, and with the help of friends, he escaped confinement and made it to a refugee camp in Kenya. In 2001, he was brought to America as part of a program to relocate lost children from war-torn Sudan.

Earlier this week, Lomong, 23, said he was mounting a campaign to be nominated by the track and field team for the flagbearer's position. He said the honor would be memorable, but he also was thrilled to be part of the democratic process that might get him there.

"In America, everyone has a chance to do all these things," Lomong said. "You follow the rules, people will choose, and if I'm blessed to get that opportunity, I'll get it."

In 2004, Dawn Staley did the flagbearer's honors. In 2000, they went to kayaker Cliff Meidl, who survived a 30,000-volt jolt of electricity in a construction accident and became an Olympian.

Lomong's story is every bit as inspiring.

He knew nothing of the Olympics in 2000, when his friends at the refugee camp in Kenya talked him into running five miles and paying five shillings to watch Michael Johnson on a black-and-white TV set with a fuzzy screen.

At that point, Lomong knew he wanted to be an Olympic runner. He earned his spot at the Olympic trials on July 6, exactly one year after he gained his U.S. citizenship.

All three Americans in the 1,500 are naturalized citizens -- Lomong, Bernard Lagat (Kenya) and Leo Manzano (Mexico).

"I feel great," Lomong said Wednesday night. "I feel happy, honored. I'm feeling so blessed to get an opportunity to present the United States of America, to present the United States flag in front of my team."

Former Northern Arizona Standout Seeks Olympic Berth

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Former National Champion Lopez Lomong will begin his quest to make the 2008 United States Olympic team next week at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Lomong is scheduled to run July 3 in the quarterfinals for the 1,500m, an event he is considered among the contenders for the three Olympic team berths.

“Everything is going pretty well for the Trials coming up,” said Lomong. “I am healthy and everything is going well.”

Lomong is among three athletes with ties to NAU at the Olympic Trials, including decathlete Lysias “Bubba” Edmonds and David Paul. Edmonds competed for the Lumberjacks from 2002-05 in both track and field and football, while Paul is a NAU graduate student who serves as a volunteer assistant coach for the track and field team. He competed at Eastern Washington and currently trains under NAU assistant Mohamad Saatara. Former NAU Head Coach Ron Mann is also a member of the track and field staff.

“I am going to take it round by round,” said Lomong of his strategy. “I am running pretty good. You have to get out and stay out of trouble. I am learning with all the big guys out there. I am very excited.”

Lomong was granted his United States citizenship last summer, officially recognized at his swearing last July 6 in Syracuse, New York. The 1,500m finals are scheduled for the one-year anniversary.

“It would mean a lot not just for me but the people who have helped me through, my school and the community,” said Lomong. “It is my first Olympic Trials here and to make the team would be very big for me.”

Lomong qualified with the Olympic “A” qualifying mark in the 1500-meter run May 19 at the adidas Track Classic, finishing fourth in a personal-best 3:36.36 behind two-time Olympic medalist and 2007 1500 World Champion Bernard Lagat, Nick Willis and Kevin Sullivan.

Lomong was a nine-time Big Sky Conference champion.