Lopez Lomong
Lomong running 1500 m at the US Olympic Team Trials in 2008
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| Personal information | ||||||||||
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| Full name | Lopez Lomong | |||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||
| Born |
January 5, 1985 Kimotong, South Sudan |
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| Residence | Lake Oswego, Oregon | |||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||
| Sport | Track and field athlete | |||||||||
| Event(s) | 800 m, 1500 m, Mile | |||||||||
| Coached by | Jerry Schumacher | |||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||
| Personal best(s) |
800 m: 1:45.58 |
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Medal record
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800 m: 1:45.58
1,500 m: 3:32.20
1,500 m (in.): 3:36.52
One Mile: 3:51.45
One Mile (in.): 3:51.21
3,000 m: 7:50.36
3,000 m (in.): 7:44.16
5,000 m (in): 13:06.99
Lopez Lomong (born January 5, 1985) is a South Sudanese-born American track and field athlete. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, came to the United States at the age of 16 and became a U.S. citizen in 2007.
Lomong's actual birthdate is January 5, 1985, but like all Lost Boys who came to the United States without paperwork, his official birthday is listed as January 1.
Lomong qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 1500 meters at the United States Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon. He was the flag bearer for the United States during the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.
He is currently a member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes urging China to exert pressure on the Sudanese government to address the War in Darfur. Lomong's autobiography, Running for My Life, was published in 2012, co-written with Mark Tabb.
Lopez Lomong was born Lopepe Lomong in a small village in South Sudan to Awei Lomong and Rita Namana. Lomong was a victim of the Second Sudanese Civil War. A Catholic, he was abducted at age six while attending Catholic Mass and assumed dead by his family and buried in absentia. He nearly died in captivity, but was helped to escape by others from his village. The four of them ran for three days until they crossed the border into Kenya. Lomong spent ten years in a refugee camp near Nairobi before being moved to the United States through Catholic Charities. His name "Lopez" was a nickname from the refugee camp that he later adopted officially. He was inspired to become a runner after watching Michael Johnson at the 2000 Summer Olympics on television.
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