The Passage Project

Pamela Jelimo, First Kenyan Woman to Bring Home Gold

Image courtesy of Timesonline.

Though I haven't been watching as much as the Olympic Games as I had originally planned, I have been following the results and was thrilled when I learned that 18 year-old Kenyan Pamela Jelimo won the gold medal Monday night in the 800-meter. The first woman to ever win gold for Kenya, Jelimo's time was 1 minute 54.87 seconds.

Born in Kapsabet, Kenya, Jelimo's inspiration is her mother, Rodah Jeptoo Keter, who gave up her running career when she married, according to today's New York Times. Another interesting fact about Jelimo was reported in Nairobi's The Nation.  For her trip to Beijing, she packed Mursik to prepare for her race Monday night. Mursik a ceremonial drink of fermented milk that is sometimes flavored with a charcoal powder from the Senetwet tree. "I carried just enough to keep me going throughout the games. This milk is rich in calcium and I take it sometimes three times a day," said Jelimo to The Nation.

Back to the Beijing and the 800-meter: fellow Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei came in second and Morocco's Hasna Benhassi finished third with the bronze medal.

U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones

Daniel Johnson image of Cullen Jones and a student from the website of The Today Show.

Cullen Jones won a gold medal on Monday for the 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay with a world record time of 3:08.24. His teammates for the relay were Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps, and Garrett Weber-Gale. Jones is the third African-American to represent the United States in the Olympics history and also signed a history making 7-year endorsement contract with Nike two years ago for $2 million. It's the largest endorsement contract ever for an swimming sprinter.

Born in 1984 in the Bronx borough of New York City, Jones later moved to New Jersey where he was raised. He began taking swimming lessons at age 5 after almost drowning during a family trip to a water park. Knowing that some will look at him as a role model, Jones holds clinics to promote swimming with USA Swimming Foundation's Make A Splash program throughout the year. Like Jones, the the foundation is aware that there are higher rates of drowning among minorities.

Jones also has runs the Cullen Jones Minority Scholarship Program, according to his website.

To learn more about Cullen Jones, visit his official website at www.cullenjones.com, The official website for NBC's Olympic coverage also has several videos featuring interviews with Jones.

Sudanese Born Lopez Lomong is U.S. Olympic Team's Flagbearer

Image courtesy of The Times Online.

Runner Lopez Lomong has come a long way from his days spent as one of Sudan's Lost Boys, a group child soldiers who were kidnapped and forced to fight during Sudan's civil war. On Friday, he was the flagbearer for the United States Olympic team during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing's National Stadium.

Born Lopepe Lomong in Kimotong, Sudan in 1985, Lomong was kidnapped when he was six years-old and became one of the many Lost Boys of Sudan. He eventually escaped to a Kenyan refugee camp and later moved to the United States when he was sponsored by Robert and Babara Rogers of Tully, New York. He finally became a citizen in 2007, making it possible to represent the U.S. in international track and field competitions. Lomong is also member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes who want to bring attention to the conflict in Sudan.

I was blown away when I first learned that Lomong was going to be carrying the U.S. flag because it was bold and politically charged statement (China's relationship with Sudan and the country's involvement in several human rights violations are among the thorny issues many have with China). Lomong does not go into great detail about the political significance of his position as flagbearer. Instead, he has chosen to move the conversation to him wanting to inspire others to fight and to never doubt oneself.

I applaud the U.S. Olympic teams decision to nominate Lomong and look forward to seeing him compete.

Lomong will be competing in the 1,500 meter run on Friday August, 15th. To listen to Lomong talk to CNN about being nominated by his fellow teammates to carry the U.S. flag in the Olympic opening ceremony, go here.

To learn more about Lopez Lomong, check out his website at www.lopezlomong.org.

 

The Peaceful Trip of the Olympic Torch in Tanzania

The Olympic torch completed its trouble-free journey through Tanzania yesterday. The torch arrived in Dar es Salaam Saturday from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Sunday's relay did not experience the protests that were seen in San Francisco, Paris and London. Tanzania was the only stop in Africa for the Olympic torch. The torch is now in Oman and then makes its way to Islamabad, Pakistan.