BEIJING (07-Aug) -- USA Track and Field announced here yesterday that 1500m runner Lopez Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, would be the flag bearer at tomorrow night's Opening Ceremony at the 29th Olympic Games. Lomong, 23, who was raised by adoptive parents in Tully, N.Y., was informed of the decision by telephone in Dalian, the Chinese coastal city where the American athletics team has its training base.
"This is the most exciting day ever in my life," Lomong said in a statement released by USATF to the media. "It's a great honor for me that my teammates chose to vote for me. The Opening Ceremony is the best day and the best moment of Olympic life. I'm here as an ambassador of my country and I will do everything I can to represent my country well."
Lomong made his first Olympic team by finishing third at the U.S. Trials, just 1/10th of a second behind second place finisher Leonel Manzano, the former University of Texas star. The Trials race was won by two-time Olympic medalist, Bernard Lagat, completing a full three-man team in that event, all of whom were born outside of the United States. Lomong had also competed in the 800m at the Trials, finishing fifth, one week earlier.
By selecting Lomong, the captains of all the U.S. Olympic teams were sending a clear message: that the United States remains a nation of immigrants.
"The American flag means everything in my life - everything that describes me, coming from another country and going through all of the stages that I have to become a U.S. citizen," Lomong said.
Lomong has overcome an overwhelming array of obstacles in becoming a top American middle distance runner. He was born in Sudan, fleeing the country when he was 6 years old and becoming separated from his family. He was sent to live in a refugee camp in Kenya for ten years, and in 2000 he walked five miles to watch the Sydney Olympic Games on a black-and-white TV. It was then that his Olympic dream began. Watching U.S. track & field athlete Michael Johnson run, Lomong remarked that "I'd like to run like that guy." He wrote a moving essay in 2001 about what he would strive to accomplish if he lived in America, and his heartfelt words prompted officials to give him that chance.
Lomong is the 13th track and field athlete selected to be the flag bearer out of 22 Olympic Opening Ceremonies, which pleased new USATF CEO Doug Logan.
"USA Track & Field congratulates Lopez in being selected for this incredible honor," said Logan. "Few people better understand or reflect the American Dream and Olympic ideals than Lopez. What a great, great day for him and the entire Olympic Team."
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