Courtesy of the Big Sky Conference
OGDEN, Utah - He was a two-time national champion, five-time All-American and 12-time Big Sky Conference individual champion.
It's no surprise that former Northern Arizona standout Lopez Lomong ranks seventh on the Big Sky Conference's list of "50 Greatest Male Athletes.''
Lomong was born in 1985 in Kimotong, Sudan. When he was 6-years old he was taken at gunpoint by armed soldiers. He escaped his captors and literally ran for his life, fleeing to a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya, where he spent nearly 10 years.
While living in the camp, Lomong first learned of the Olympics. In the summer of 2000, he watched American Michael Johnson run on a small black and white TV at a farmer's house. After that, Lomong had dreams of running in the Olympics.
In 2001, Lomong came to the United States through the Catholic Charities program where he lived in upstate New York with Rob and Barbara Rogers.
Lomong's first taste of competitive running in the United States came at Tulley High School. He graduated, and enrolled at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., but didn't compete in track and field. After a year, he transferred to Northern Arizona. Lomong competed in cross country from 2005-07 and track and field for the 2006-07 season for the Lumberjacks. Lomong came to NAU as an 800-meter specialist.
"I went to a school in Virginia Beach," said Lomong. "I spent a year there and I wanted to transfer. So I met one of my friends, Tom Hightower, who was in love with mountains and the Flagstaff area. He said, 'I wanted you to go to this school.' So I talked to him and coach, and I went home for the summer and I left my job. I was working in a hotel in my home there. I moved to Flagstaff and fell in love with it and that is the place I wanted to be."
In Lomong's first season at NAU in 2005-06 he competed in cross country, and won the mile and 800 meters during the Big Sky indoor season. He also finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 800.
After his first season at NAU things started to click for Lomong.
In 2006, he competed at his first NCAA Championships in cross country. Before traveling to Terre Haute, Ind., Lomong won the Big Sky Conference individual title and was second at Mountain Regionals.
"It was really nice to go out and put on my jersey and represent my school," said Lomong about competing at the NCAA Championship. "It was amazing. I went there in 2006 by myself. So I ran and fought through in Terre Haute, Ind."
In Terre Haute, Lomong was fourth with a time of 30 minutes, 59.8 seconds.
"I trained so hard and sacrificed my time to do really well," Lomong said. "I was in front the whole time and I ended up finishing fourth. After looking at it all these guys that are really from big schools and running so fast in the 10,000 meters, and I was only an 800-meter guy. That was my specialty. I just felt that I could run with anybody."
"And my coach at the time said, go out there and fight through it," added Lomong. "It is going to be tough condition-wise. It was actually muddy and everything. I just went out there and fought through and ended up in fourth, which is amazing. From that moment, it got me so excited that I could do it again next year and bring the team and be on the podium."
After finishing fourth, Lomong continued that momentum into the track and field season. During the indoor season, he won the 800 meters, mile and 3,000 meters at the Big Sky Championship. He was named Athlete of the Meet. He went on to the NCAA Championship in Fayetteville, Ark., and won his first NCAA title, capturing the 3,000 meters in a time of 7:49.74. Wisconsin's Chris Solinsky, who won the NCAA title in that event last season, finished second with a time of 7:51.69.
Lomong won his second NCAA title in the 1,500 meters in Sacramento, Calif., finishing in a time of 3:37.07.
"I really wanted to do well and push myself," said Lomong. "I wanted to run in the NCAA Championship. I started to train for the 3,000 meters. I was just so motivated because that was something I wanted to accomplish at NAU. So in 2006 indoors I just went out there and said these are the guys that I have been competing with especially in cross country."
"I knew I was in great shape and I kept running," added Lomong. "I just went and fought and I wanted to be something that an 800-meter runner would ever think about winning a 3,000 meters. So I fought through it and it was great I brought home a W. It was really great."
In the outdoor season, he scored 30 points for his team at the Big Sky Championship. He won the 800, 1,500 and 5,000, and was named the meet's Outstanding Track Athlete.
He won his second NCAA title in the 1,500 meters in Sacramento, Calif., finishing in a time of 3:37.07. Texas' Leonel Manzano was second with a time of 3:37.48.
"It was really nice and I was so happy and so excited to do something really good for the school and for the people supporting me," said Lomong about winning the 1,500 meters. "NAU gave me all the resources and I wanted to do really well and of course I wanted to represent my conference really well. So it was fantastic I received a lot of messages from my friends, peers and other athletes that were all supporting me. It was awesome."
Lomong was named NCAA Mountain Region Male Track Athlete of the Year by USTFCCCA during both the indoor and outdoor season in 2007.
After that season, John Hayes left NAU and Eric Heins was named the coach.
During the 2007 cross country season, Lomong defended his individual title at the Big Sky Championship and won the Mountain Regionals.
"During my first cross country season at NAU when Lopez was there, he had a huge impact for setting me up for the next three and half years on the cross country and track team," said former NAU standout David McNeill. "Lopez was easy-going, and a fun teammate to be around, but when it came to practice time he really knuckled down. I think that rubbed off on me a little bit."
Lomong placed third at the NCAA Cross Country Championship with a time of 29:45.5. He wasn't running alone this time. As a team, Northern Arizona finished fourth.
"I ended up in 2007 finishing third," said Lomong. "We brought the Lumberjacks and brought a trophy back home. And that was the time that I could focus more on the Olympic games and things like that."
Lomong's autobiography "Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games.''
"I was extremely fortunate to walk into a situation where I was able to coach Lopez Lomong for one cross country season," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "Lopez walked into my office with a huge grin on his face and said, 'Welcome Coach, let's get to work.' He was an absolute joy to work with."
"I had never seen an athlete like him, he had the perfect blend of speed and stamina and was not intimidated by anything or anyone," added Heins. "Many athletes need their coaches to keep them calm before races or help them control their nerves. I just needed to get Lopez to the starting line on time."
After the cross country season, Lomong opted to turn pro and begin training for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. He also became a United States citizen.
His United States teammates elected him to carry the flag during the opening ceremonies, one of the most-watched events in television history. He didn't qualify for the finals in 2008, but was 12th in the semifinals.
Lomong shared his life story in a book published in 2012 titled "Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games.''
Lomong, who is sponsored by Nike, has also partnered with World Vision on the "4 South Sudan Project,'' to help offer care, support, and a better future to families in South Sudan. More information is available at www.lopezlomong.com.
Lomong, who also competed in the 2012 Summer Games, is currently training for the 2016 Olympics, which will be held in Brazil. The three-time US National Champion is training to run the 5,000 in 2016.
"I am really excited," said Lomong. "As an athlete I don't want to limit myself to just one event. I want to try out other opportunities, other races and other events. Jumping, I don't think I can jump. I will never do a high jump or triple jump. But anything running I could train for it, figure it out and do it."
Most recently, Lomong won the 1,500 meters at the 2014 US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. He won with a time of 3:43.09. His teammate Will Leer was second with a time of 3:43.21.
