Lopez Lomong: An American Story
On July 25-28, the 2019 USA Track and Field Championships were held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s championships was the selection meet for the US team for the World Championships to be held Sept. 27-Oct. 16 in Doha, Qatar.
This ensured that our top athletes would be competing and in essence would be a preview of our 2020 Tokyo Olympic hopefuls. The U.S. has always been strong in the sprint distances from 400 meters down to 100 meters.
In recent years, the middle and long distance events have shown a resurgence. Emma Coburn, Jenny Simpson, Matt Centrowitz and Galen Rupp all have medaled at recent Olympic and World Championships.
To qualify for the World Championships you had to be one of the top performers at the US Championships and meet a World Championship qualifying standard.
The standards are not for the meek. In the 800 meters, it is 1:45.8 for men and 2:00.6 for women. In the 1500 meters (metric mile) 3:36.0 (3:51.1 mile) and 4:06.5 (4:25.2 mile). For the 5k, the standards are 13:22.5 for men and 15:22 for women. In the 10k 27:40 and 31:50. In the 3k Steeple Chase, the times are 8:29 and 9:40.
At Drake, Donovan Brazier ran the 800 in 1:45.62 to secure his spot. The women’s 800 was won by Ajeé Wilson in 1:57.72. In the 1500 the winners were Craig Engels in 3:44.93 and Shelby Houlihan in 4:03.18.
In the 5k, Lopez Lomong took gold in 13:25.53 with Houlihan winning in 15:15.5. In the 10k, Lomong ran a sterling 27:30.06 with Molly Huddle taking gold in 31:58.47. In the 3k Steeple, the US champs were Emma Coburn (9:29.63) and for the men, Hillary Bor (8:18.05).
A world record was set by Dalihah Muhammad in the women’s 400 meter hurdles with a 52.20 clocking. Sam Kendricks set a US record in the men’s pole vault by soaring to 19’10.5”.
Perhap, the most compelling story from this year’s meet is the story of Lopez Lomong.
I first saw Lomong run when I took a contingent of Kingston High athletes to the 2001 New York State Championships in Henrietta, N.Y. As a 10th grader, Lomong finished fifth in the 1600 in 4:18 running out of the slower section.
At that meet I also watched Molly Huddle win the girls 1500 and 3k races. Lomong is one of the “Lost Boys of the Sudan.” He was one of the more than 20,000 boys who were displaced or orphaned during the second Sudanese Civil War.
In 1986, Lomong was kidnapped by rebel forces from a church mass and sent to a camp to be trained as a “child soldier.” He was 6 years old. He escaped that camp, ran for three days and made his way to a refugee camp in Kenya. Lomong would spend the next 10 years of his life at the Kakuma Refugee Camp.
In 2001, he had the good fortune to be relocated to Tully, N.Y. through a program run by Catholic Charities. His parents believed he was dead and he believed his family had perished. Lomong discovered that his mother and brothers were still alive in 2003 and he was successful in bringing his two brothers to the U.S. to attend college.
In 2007, he became a U.S. citizen and in 2008 made our Beijing Olympic team. At the Olympics he was voted by the team to be our flag bearer.
In recent years he has been plagued by injuries that can occur when training at the highest level. His victories in the 5k and 10k races at the U.S. Championships signaled his re-emergence as a legitimate contender on the world scene.
I do not think any of us can understand what he has gone through, but we can understand how coming to America and becoming an American citizen enabled him to build a new life. Lomong’s journey from the most desperate of circumstances to a life of hope and opportunity is a uniquely American story. His perseverance, courage and strength of character is inspiring.
Race Recaps
The third race in the New Paltz Summer Series took place on July 22 at Williams Lake.
It rained all day with periods of heavy rain. This necessitated redesigning the course to eliminate any treacherous steep single track sections. One hundred fifty orange cones and three rolls of flagging tape was used to guide the runners.
Everything worked. No one got lost or injured. The mud made for a very challenging run that one competitor deemed “epic.”
The three fastest “mudrunners” were Liam Higgins (24:50), Chas Wager (25:32) and Jeff Conston (25:43). The top women were Sarah Lamoy (28:41), Aislinn Ryan (29:37) and Isabelle Serrano (29:39). In the kids one half and one mile races, the children happily splashed their way to the finish. The winners in the half were Anthony Gruner (5:16) and Juniper McGowan (5:34). In the mile, top honors went to Nate Clark (7:17) and Eliana Gallo (10:09).
The third night of racing in the Kingston Cross Country series was at Coleman High School. With the recent announcement of the closing of Coleman, this might be the last time this venue can be used.
A sign that something might have been in the air was that the old two loop course could not be used. It was just too overgrown. A course was quickly devised that included two trips up and around the power line towers. With two way traffic, this nearly 3-mile course tested your agility, eyesight and your ability to throw in quick bursts of speed. Some found all this to be harrowing and others found it to be exciting.
The three fastest “weavers” were Logan Linares (19:06), Adam Beach (19:22) and Luca Maneri (19:23). The top three women were Chloe Hanson (22:45), Megan Warman (24:59) and Felicia Ojanousky (25:27). The children’s races were one and two lappers around the perimeter of the school. The top one lappers were Jayden Treasure (2:56) and Brielle Reuben (3:39). The fastest two lappers were Eric Brener (5:11) and Kirsten Gudmundsen (6:01).
Race Previews
In my last column I wrote about grassroots running events and two upcoming events certainly fit that mold. On Friday evening Aug. 16, local runners will get a chance to run in the dark at the Under the Stars at Morningstar 3.5 miler.
This event takes place in New Paltz around the Morningstar Drive East and West loop by running through neighbors’ yards lit by tiki torches. This very fun event is the brainchild of the Lapolt family who live on Morningstar Drive East. They enlisted their entire neighborhood to help.
All proceeds from the $10 donation go to the St. Joseph Church Food Pantry in New Paltz. The event also has a three-person relay option and everyone gets glowsticks. The organizer recommends wearing headlamps. There are awards and refreshments.
After running, everyone gathers at the Lapolt’s and the post race socializing has a block party feel. The event has a nice mixture of runners, triathletes, swimmers and bikers. Be sure to look for details on this race in the Freeman’s running calendar.
A brand new race in Kingston has been created to help the Good Shepherd Christian School on East Chester Street. The Good Shepherd Christian School Summer Color 5k Run/ Walk will take place on Saturday, Aug. 17.
The 5k course will use the streets near the school, Hutton Park and Clifton Avenue. Bill Maynard is the Race Director and he has enlisted the help of several area runners to make sure the logistics of the race meet the needs of all runners and walkers. It is shaping up to be a “win-win.” Area runners get a well-done race and the school raises some badly needed funds. See the Freeman’s running calendar for the specific details.
With both summer cross country series ending, the regular Monday and Wednesday night workouts will begin again on Aug. 12 and 14. See the group runs/workout section of the Daily Freeman’s running calendar for more information.
Calendar, results
Race directors, please submit information for the race calendar to sports@ freemanonline.com. Information should be in the form of a concise email with important details highlighted and included in the body of the email. No race flyer PDFs.
Race results should be submitted directly to me at ssrun54@aol.com.
Steve Schallenkamp has been active in area running circles since 1966 as runner, race director, volunteer and coach. He is a member of the Onteora Runners Club and president of the Shawangunk Runners Club.