Rising from ashes - a tale of two Olympic flag bearers

Lopez Lomong was born in South Sudan, one of the most volatile regions on the planet. When he was six, he was abducted by militants during Sudan’s second civil war. His family assumed he would never return home. Many in his hometown listed him as dead, buried in absentia. However, Lomong ran for four nights, escaping from his abductors. Scraping for food and water, he crossed the border into Kenya where he stayed in a refugee camp before being saved by American Catholic Charities. Like many of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”, he was settled with his new guardians, the Rodgers family in New York.

While he was accustoming to life in the refugee camps at Nairobi, Kenya, the future American citizen watched Michael Johnson recreate history at the Summer Olympics. Only then did he take up athletics seriously – strongly vowing to compete at the Olympics. Little did we know that this young chap, like his idol Michael Johnson, would go down in history books at the Beijing Olympics.

In the middle of 2007, the former Sudanese native received American citizenship. On August 8, 2008, at the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony, Lopez Lomong was the flag bearer of the United States of America. The team captains who voted for Lomong, unanimously proclaimed him as the voice of the nation, a person who is mighty proud of being a citizen of the star spangled flag.

Speaking at a press conference following the announcement, Lomong exclaimed, “This is the most exciting day ever in my life. It’s a great honor for me that my teammates chose to vote for me.” He further added, “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. 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.”

Despite his inability to win a medal at Beijing, Lomong is undoubtedly an inspiration to millions around the world. What the man achieved by leading the most successful nation in Olympic history to the stadium, showed the entire world that always in the midst of hard times, there is a glitter of hope. Today, the athlete is a spokesperson for several goodwill programs, one of which is aimed at liberating Darfur. Also, Lomong actively participates in community service events where his motto is “to help those who needed it like him.”

Not many stories have been this scripted for a country’s flag bearer at the Olympics. In fact, the bearer is usually the most popular or decorated athlete in a country’s respective contingent. The select few have suffered the ordeal which Lomong experienced. From a turbulent childhood upbringing to achieving heroic status at the Beijing Olympics, Lopez Lomong fulfilled his dream, which not many can boast about.

Another story which recently attracted attention is from the South African contingent. For this London Olympics, the South African panel has nominated middle-distance runner, Caster Semenya as the country’s flag bearer.

Semenya rose to stardom following her victory in the 2009 World Championships. An unheard of name before her successful run in Berlin, Mokgadi Caster Semenya shook the athletic fraternity by clocking the fastest time of the year. Soon questions were raised over her gender, particularly attributed to her stature and blood samples’ content.

Since then, her life entered a downhill. After she failed the gender test for a female, the South African was heavily scrutinized by the media. Many labeled her a “cheat”. Feeling disgraceful, Semenya contemplated quitting athletics. While the South African was enduring traumatic times, athletes came out in support of her. Coincidentally, one of them was Semenya’s idols, Michael Johnson. Like Lomong, Caster Semenya grew up dreaming to emulate the American 200m and 400m World and Olympic Champion. After two years of court battles, legal troubles and finally resolving the gender issue, Caster Semenya will eventually compete at sports’ biggest coliseum.

It isn’t guaranteed that Semenya will shun her critics by winning a medal. Unlike Lomong, she is a favorite in her event where expectations are sky high back home in the “rainbow nation”. Her competition is stiff with runners from other African nations ranked equally as good as her. Irrespective of the outcome in London, Semenya is a heroine. Her motivation was buried in ashes when controversies over her gender dominated her life. Her chances to compete again were bleak. However, last night, she led out one of South Africa’s strongest contingents ever. She, like Lopez Lomong, serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration to millions around the world.

Caster Semenya fought a different yet similar battle to that which Lopez Lomong faced. They were different only in the types of struggles they fought to overcome but the same in becoming popular figures of hope and courage through the ‘measly’ role of being a flag bearer.