Lopez Lomong, Chosen To Be U.S. Flagbearer, Is a True Olympian

Lopez Lomong, a competitor in the 1500 meters, was chosen to the flag bearer for the United States in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, which will be held Friday.

Lomong, who is a naturalized citizen who arrived in the U.S. seven years ago from Kenya, was abducted at gunpoint at the age of 6 by a militia in his native Sudan. He escaped from his captors and fled to Kenya, where he stayed for many years until an American couple brought him to the United States as part of a program to help the "Lost Boys of Sudan."

By all accounts, Lomong is a model citizen and an athlete with an enormous drive to compete. He is a member of Team Darfur, an organization that raises awareness of Sudanese issues, especially China's role in the region.

Team Darfur's co-founder and speed-skating Winter Olympian Joey Cheek's visa was recently revoked by Beijing, and the USOC apparently showed as much interest in defending him as Packers management has in Brett Favre. This lead the LA Times to wonder openly if the USOC is courting votes for Chicago '16 by marginalizing Cheek and reprimanding the athletes who wore masks to protest air quality.

Having Lomong as the flag bearer is a perfect way to show the Chinese government and the USOC that American athletes are serious about human rights issues, but not in a flagrant manner. Lomong is walking proof of the horrors of the Sudan, but at the same time, he has shown that he could stand up to evil and pursue his own goals. 

The IOC and USOC should have thought about the reprecussions of having China as an Olympic host, and Lomong, without carrying a sign or shouting slogans, will highlight some of these issues. A protest of his worthiness to carry the flag would be ridiculous, because removing an athlete who persevered as a he has would be a stain on the Games.

But this should take away from Lomong's qualities as an athlete and as a person. Even if he were not from Sudan, his story is still one of perseverance in the face of tragedy. Though once presumed dead by his family, he was recently reunited with his mother and siblings, and has used athletics to help him recover from his childhood experiences and go on with his life.

Lomong is not the only inspirational story of the games (all 3 1500 entrants from the US are naturalized citizens, a "melting pot" counterpoint to basketball's "Dream Teams"), but he is no doubt one of the most compelling.

This fact alone would qualify him for the honor. The Olympics are about using athletics to transcend real-world politics, and no matter what you think about the IOC's choice of Beijing or the Chinese government or USOC's actions, Lopez Lomong is a worthy athletic representative of the United States.