(ATR) Members of the U.S. Olympic team made a symbolic show of support for the plight of the Sudanese by choosing Lopez Lomong, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," as their flagbearer for Friday's Olympics opening ceremony.
The vote came a day after the Chinese government denied a visa to Joey Cheek, the U.S. speedskating gold medalist who co-founded Team Darfur.
Lomong is a member of Team Darfur, which is trying to raise awareness about the violence and human suffering in the war-torn Darfur region in Sudan.
China's trade policies with Sudan have been criticized by human rights groups.
In selecting the flagbearer, a U.S. team captain from each sport was allowed to nominate an athlete. The captains then discussed the nominees and voted.
Lomong, 23, will compete in the 1,500 meters in Beijing, his first major international event, after finishing third in the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
He was born in Sudan and fled the country at age 6, after militiamen abducted him with the intent of turning him into a boy soldier. Separated from his family, Lomong lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for 10 years. In 2000, he walked five miles to watch the Sydney Olympics on a black-and-white television.
After writing an essay about what he would like to accomplish if he lived in the U.S, he moved to Tully, N.Y., to live with a foster family. He only became a U.S. citizen in July 2007.
"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 in a statement.
"This is another amazing step for me in celebrating being an American. Seeing my fellow Americans coming behind me [in the opening ceremony] and supporting me will be a great honor - the highest honor. It's just a happy day. I don't even have the words to describe how happy I am."
Lomong joins a long line of U.S. flagbearers dating back to 1908 who include Rafer Johnson (1960); Olga Fikotova Connolly (1972), who emigrated to the U.S. after winning the 1956 discus throw for Czechoslovakia; and Evelyn Ashford (1988). Basketball player Dawn Staley carried the flag for the U.S. team in Athens.
Written by
ATR staff in Beijing.
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