Foreign-born athletes compete for U.S. at Beijing Olympics

Associated Press • August 7, 2008 NEW YORK (AP) — As the U.S. struggles with immigration policy, Americans will get a chance next month to see their melting-pot nation through the prism of foreign-born athletes competing in USA uniforms at the Beijing Olympics. There are at least 32 of them, compared to 27 at the 2004 Summer Games, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which didn't track the statistic before then. They include four Chinese-born table tennis players, a kayaker from Britain, Russian-born world champion gymnast Nastia Liukin and seven members of the track-and-field team. For those seeking symbolism, it's hard to top the men's 1,500-meter squad — Kenya native Bernard Lagat; Lopez Lomong, one of the "lost boys" of Sudan's civil war who spent a decade in a refugee camp; and Leo Manzano, a Mexican laborer's son... [read full story]