Beijing-My time here in Beijing has flown by; I cannot believe that I leave tomorrow. Just two weeks ago, I wondered if I would even make it on the plane. Now I am already in reflective mode.

My role here in Beijing has been to cover swimming for a Canadian swimming magazine, and as writer I received media accreditation through the Canadian Olympic Committee. However, two days before my flight, I got the call that Joey Cheek's visa had been withdrawn. I thought I would be next, especially after Kendra Zanotto, who was supposed to be in Beijing to work as a synchronized swimming reporter had had her visa denied as well. Fortunately, I was admitted, and I have been able to witness perhaps the greatest swimming competition in history and had the opportunity to once again celebrate the Olympic Games.

About Chris: Chris Boyles is an elite decathlete and member of Team Darfur.  Chris was planning to go to Beijing to serve as "media" guy for Dr. Draeger’s a prominent doctor for decathletes (www.goldmedalmotion.com [11]) and to support friend and 3x Olympic decathlete Tom Pappas (www.decatom.com [12]). On July 24, he was granted a Visa to go to China. On the 28th, he received a phone call telling him that his Visa was no longer valid. He was told that he had to resubmit his Visa application. He was denied and instructed to drive to the Chinese Consulate in DC. He had to fly in from Kansas (was at a track & field competition). Once there, he was told that they couldn't even accept the form because he had been previously denied. Chris has done a number of interviews since his visa revocation, and has seized his new opportunity to speakup about the plight of the people of Darfur. 

It's the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, and Canada has just walked in.  Ever since I can remember watching the Olympics it was this moment that filled me with excitement, anticipation, and pride.  I'm lucky enough to call myself an Olympian, and even luckier to have been one who was in the hunt for a medal (sadly missing a third place finish in Torino by 3 hundredths of a second.)

I often ask myself what it means to be an Olympian and why the Olympics represents such grandeur in my (and the worlds') eyes.  I suppose its the chance to achieve an ideal, a level of excellence, the chance to inspire a nation, and the chance to rise above politics, war, and discrimination, to a playing field that comes down to hard work, dedication, and a pure connection to the moment and movement that is sport. 

72 Team Darfur athletes are competing in this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. You can send them messages of support through our Take Action [17] page. We are so proud of all that our athletes have already accomplished. Here are a few of the messages fans have already sent:

- Courtney Petersen

Read more of the messages of support [18] that have been sent so far.

A number of leaders of the US government have made statements about the situation of Team Darfur athletes' whose visas to China have been revoked. A sampling of those statements is below:

President Bush, in an interview on NBC on August 10th with NBC’s Bob Costas:

COSTAS: China is a nation that warmly received Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who has since been indicted by the International Court on charges of genocide... Then this past week they revoked the visa of Joey Cheek, an exemplary Olympian who had planned to come here not to directly protest China's government, but to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur... What's your reaction?

THE PRESIDENT: My reaction is I'm sorry Joey Cheek didn't come, he's a good man. Joey Cheek has just got to know that I took the Sudanese message for him. My attitude is, is if you got relations with Mr.Bashir, think about helping to solve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. That was my message to the Chinese government.


In a statement, Senator Feingold of Wisconsin, who introduced the Senate Resolution calling for an Olympic Truce for Darfur, said:

“China’s decision to revoke Joey Cheek’s visa undermines the spirit of the Olympic Games and China’s role as host. As a world leader deeply engaged in Africa, and as host of the Olympic Games, China has a responsibility and an opportunity to help bring peace to Darfur. I call on the Chinese government to use the Olympic Games to push for an end to the conflicts in Sudan and I call on President Bush to raise this issue specifically with the Chinese government during his visit.”

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

I set off for my first trip to Asia in December 2007. I first visited Tokyo where I was to speak to the Japanese Epilepsy Association. They seemed to be having an indian summer so when I landed in the middle of a snow storm in Beijing a few days later I was a bit surprised!

I was asked to present my story (see www.marionclignet.org [27] for details) to a group of patients in a hospital in Beijing. Epilepsy is still considered to be somewhat of a spiritual possession of sorts in certain countries so my mission was to let doctors and patients know that it never stopped me from winning six world titles and two Olympic silvers.

Maybe I was possessed by sport.

Team Darfur member, Lopez Lomong, was recently named Darfur Hero of August by Save Darfur. Lomong says he feels a need to speak out about the genocide in Darfur because "a lot of people here don’t know what is going on in Sudan and I need to send a message as an athlete from Sudan." At age 6, Lopez was abducted from a Sudanese church by a militia that was training child soldiers. With the help of some older boys, he escaped through a hole in the fence and ended up in a refugee camp. He remained there for 10 years. Finally, he received a VISA to the US from an organization that sought to relocate 3,500 refugees. He attended Northern Arizona University, where he began pursuing his Olympic dreams. He will compete in the Beijing Olympics in the 1500 Men's Track event. We wish him the best of luck. Lomong knows first hand about the tragedies in Sudan and we are so proud that Save Darfur selected him as a Darfur hero.

Read the full article here [30] .