Lopez Lomong Chosen as USA Olympics Flagbearer

I usually treat watching running races in much the same way that I treat watching adult movies - an occasionally amusing diversion, but ultimately something I'd rather do than watch.  Nonetheless, I have been closely following the inspirational career of 1500 meter runner Lopez Lomong, and was pleased to see that he has been selected as the USA flagbearer at the Olympics. For those of you not familiar with Lomong, he was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan.  "(Lomong was) 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."

It's great that in a country of immigrants, our three representatives in the 1500 - Lomong, Bernard Lagat (Kenya) and Leo Manzano (Mexico) - are all naturalized citizens. Lomong was chosen as the flagbearer in a vote by the team captains.  According to the AP report, when asked about his nomination he said "the honor would be memorable, but he also was thrilled to be part of the democratic process that might get him there."