Emerald Coastie carries the flame – 18 years after Beijing Olympics Christopher Saul February 16, 2026 11:43 am Niceville, Sports Morgan Harrison (nee Montoya) and I meet at Black Rifle Coffee Company on an impromptu Thursday afternoon. I‘m there a little bit early, so I grab a coffee and sit opposite the big screen TV perched in the southeast corner of the roastery. On the TV, Olympic ice skaters twirl and jump across the screen in outfits with their various national colors. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Morgan enter the shop with a large, narrow cardboard box. In reflective red, the box has clouds in the Chinese circular style grafted onto it. The box is almost 20 years old, which must be an eternity for cardboard. Despite plenty of military moves across the nation from Hawai’i, Alaska, Los Angeles, and finally here to the Emerald Coast, the box is in fantastic shape. It’s like viewing an 80-year old marathoner – a once-in-a-lifetime view itself. Morgan has a big smile on her face as she says hi and lets me know she’s going to grab some coffee. She sits down, and we begin to talk about the time she ran and carried the Olympic Torch through the only American City to host the flame for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in China. RELATED: Local nonprogit secures adaptive bike for special needs child. Happiness and Fear In 2008, Morgan lived in San Francisco....
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