Lopez Lomong went from running to escape the soldiers who abducted him, to running to represent America in the Olympics… What would you do if your childhood of being loved by your parents and playing with your friends was ripped from you? Lomong’s story proves what we can achieve if we make the most of the opportunities life gives us.
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00:00 This move is Lopez Lamont! My goodness! This young man has come so far!
00:04 He's an Olympic finalist.
00:05 Lopez Lamont won 3000 meter race.
00:08 His dream? Reunite with the family he lost 16 years ago.
00:12 His background, it makes him tougher.
00:14 He's seen things that none of the other kids seen before.
00:16 You run for joy. You run for this nation.
00:18 You're just running away from bullets.
00:22 Kids were dying every day.
00:24 They took us from our family.
00:25 They give you a gun and they say, "Okay, if you see somebody, pull the trigger."
00:28 And that was a moment that I lost my childhood.
00:31 The soldiers came out with their guns yelling at everybody to lay down.
00:34 My mom was running to go rescue me and she grabbed me so close to her.
00:38 The soldier came in and ripped me from her.
00:42 This guy is incredible.
00:43 We just started running, running for our lives.
00:45 He's definitely going to win the Olympics.
00:47 My legs saved me from death.
00:48 Lopez Lamont was one of thousands who became known as the Lost Boys of the Sudan.
00:53 I never had any food along the way.
00:54 Getting to the Olympics was all about breaking barriers.
00:57 Hopefully I can be able to see my mom again.
00:59 What happened to your mother?
01:00 I was six years old when my life completely changed.
01:04 The soldiers came out with their guns yelling at everybody to lay down.
01:08 My mom grabbed me so hard as we are going and we are laying down on the ground.
01:13 And she grabbed me so tightly, so close to her.
01:16 The soldier came in and ripped me from her.
01:20 And as he dragged me, my mom was running to rescue me.
01:25 The soldiers just draw his weapon and said, "One more step, I'll shoot."
01:28 And that was a moment that I lost my childhood.
01:33 And that's when my struggle began.
01:35 I was dragged by a big guy with a lot of guns and bullets around him and was thrown in a truck.
01:43 They took us from our family.
01:46 The rebel, they want the kids.
01:50 It's easier to brainwash the kids to be a soldier, to go kill.
01:56 They give you a gun and say, "You see somebody? Pull the trigger."
01:59 Kids were dying every day.
02:05 I was just like crying, missing my parents.
02:08 That's when three other boys planned their escape.
02:13 They went out training and they saw the hole in the fence.
02:18 In the middle of the night, this kid picked me up.
02:21 They told me, "Tonight we are going to see your mom again."
02:24 We went through this hole in the fence.
02:28 The other one went through the second one and then me and then third one.
02:31 And we came in and we crawled toward the hole in the fence.
02:34 And that's when my race began.
02:36 We just started running, running for our lives.
02:39 Three days, three nights, I'm running towards a hope.
02:44 Hopefully I can be able to see my mom again.
02:47 I can be able to be in my village again.
02:48 Run into the woods, through the savanna, in the tall grass.
02:53 We don't want anybody to be able to see us above on the hills.
02:57 We never had any food along the way.
03:00 We just ran away from the bad guys with bullets.
03:04 He and his friends were arrested by the Kenyan border police
03:11 and taken to the Kakuma refugee camp.
03:16 The life there, it was just very tough.
03:19 One special day of the week, they'll dump their trash.
03:23 And they just drop it in this like a little hole.
03:26 And all the boys, we just jump in and just eat everything that is in there.
03:30 Rotten bananas, rotten tomatoes, anything that is there.
03:35 And we eat it all.
03:36 They never burn anything.
03:37 That was our meal of the week.
03:39 And that was our life.
03:43 I wanted to be, you know, one of those kids who just go to sleep and never wake up.
03:49 There was something called Olympics on TV.
03:56 I never seen TV before in my life.
04:00 We knock on this guy's house.
04:02 He opened the door.
04:04 He said, "Where are you guys going?"
04:07 We said, "We'd like to come and watch Olympics."
04:09 I got so close to that black and white TV
04:13 that the thing that was playing at the time was 400 meters by Michael Johnson.
04:17 He was running 400 meters final.
04:19 And the man ran and everybody was cheering, flashing of the cameras and everything.
04:25 And I look and I'm like, "Running was a sport?"
04:28 In my village, running is a place to go somewhere faster.
04:34 Running is me.
04:37 It's what I do.
04:38 I'm running towards a hope.
04:42 Hopefully, I can be able to see my mom again.
04:44 He finished the race.
04:46 He got his medal.
04:47 He won the podium, the national anthem.
04:50 And the tear came out of his cheek.
04:53 I didn't know at the time that he was actually running for something bigger.
04:58 He was running for his country.
05:00 He was representing his country.
05:01 And I said right then, I said, "I would like to run for that country one day.
05:05 I want to go to Olympics."
05:06 I started walking.
05:11 And then the memories of Michael Johnson started playing in my head.
05:14 And I started running and running a little bit faster and faster.
05:17 That was my dream.
05:19 What you didn't know is that there were some parents here in the United States
05:25 getting ready to make a home for you.
05:27 Rob and Barbara, how did they hear about you?
05:31 A program, the Lost Boys of Sudan, they needed a new home.
05:36 They saw there was my name in there.
05:40 They had a sign that said, "Welcome home."
05:43 I just walked straight to them.
05:45 I started pitching myself, like, "I need to wake up out of this dream."
05:47 All I was thinking is, like, "The place is so beautiful.
05:52 I don't belong here.
05:53 I don't think I am blessed enough to be able to stay in this house."
05:57 My dad basically opened up and said, like, "This is your home.
06:01 You are our son.
06:02 We're going to take care of you."
06:03 The cross-country coach, he comes to recruit you.
06:09 The moment I step my feet in the campus and I say, "I would like to go to the Olympics,"
06:12 well, it means, like, we have to win some meets, NCAA championship,
06:17 or maybe go to the USA championship,
06:18 and then that is the gateway for you to go to the Olympics.
06:21 And I say, "Everything is possible."
06:22 I saw Michael Johnson in a black and white TV.
06:28 Now, I can put that same jersey on my chest, run for the USA Olympic trials.
06:39 I'm running towards a hope.
06:41 Lopez Lamont.
06:45 Basically, what's inside my head, this is the opportunity.
06:51 This is what you are running for.
06:53 Remember, you used to run away from the bullets.
06:56 Now, you're running for pure joy.
06:59 And just put your head down, listen to your breathing.
07:08 Toyota Mintz, 5,000 meter.
07:10 I felt it's like twitch on my hamstring.
07:12 No, not right now, but 250 meters to go, 200 meters to go.
07:17 Flex channel, me running in the wilderness, thinking, if I give up right now,
07:25 if I look back, I will never be able to do this.
07:27 He's not giving up.
07:30 You get the feeling, though, it's going to come down to Paul Chalimo and Lopez Lamont.
07:35 Can Lamont do the double, the 10,000 and 5,000?
07:38 Now, the sprint's on.
07:39 Lamont's not letting Chalimo get away.
07:42 There's a double on the line.
07:44 I think Lopez Lamont might do it.
07:46 He wins, he gets the double.
07:48 The first to win the 5,000, 10,000 double.
07:52 When I crossed that line, it was incredible.
07:55 This race, not for me, it's for them.
07:59 I'm running for the children that don't have even moms, don't have parents,
08:04 don't have anybody to take care of, to feed them when they're hungry.
08:09 I am running for those kids, for those parents.
08:13 I'm calling this flag.
08:16 You find out, and you're surprised, that your parents back in Africa,
08:22 that you thought were dead, there's still a lot.
08:24 You're given an opportunity to travel back home.
08:28 After 17 years of separation, I saw my mom, I saw my dad, my brothers are all there.
08:37 I just come here to see you, to be able to hug you,
08:41 to eat with you, to share laughter together.
08:46 My legs saved my life.
08:48 I used to be running away from the bullets,
08:50 but now I'm running for joy, I'm running for a country that gave me opportunity.
08:56 Not take anything for granted.
08:58 The only way is forward.
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