Torch Bearer
Coast Guard Woman Carries Olympic Torch for 2008 Games

	Coast Guard SN Mallory Schafer, of Coast Guard Integrated Support Command, Alameda, CA, holds an Olympic Torch, a replica given to her after she helped carry the Olympic Torch through the streets of San Francisco, April 9, 2008. USCG Photo by SN Caleb Critchfield.

A two-minute relay race may not seem like a big accomplishment to most, but for a Coast Guard seaman from Integrated Support Command (ISC), Alameda, CA, running this short distance put her in the history books.

SN Mallory Elizabeth Schafer was one of 80 runners—the only active duty military member and the only servicewoman—who carried the Olympic Torch during its one North American stop, in San Francisco, CA, April 9, 2008.

The famed Olympic Torch began its journey March 24, from Olympia, Greece, en route to Beijing, China, site of the XXIX Olympic Games, which begin Aug. 8. More than 21,000 runners will carry the torch as it travels to 22 cities around the globe during the longest Olympic Torch Relay ever—more than 130 days.

The 23-year-old, who is assigned to the industrial carpentry shop in the engineering division at ISC Alameda, was one of 39 runners selected by San Francisco city and county officials to carry the torch following an essay contest, with the remaining 41 runners being selected by relay sponsors, the Coca Cola Company, Samsung, Lenovo, and the US Olympic Committee. In addition to the young Coast Guardsman, the 2008 US torch bearers range in age from 16 to 75 years old and include a Special Olympian, a former mayor of San Francisco, an organic produce distributor, a marine biologist, an Iraq war veteran, a registered nurse, an ultra marathoner, an elementary school teacher, a Franciscan nun and a 75-year-old grandmother.

SN Schafer, a native of Hampton Roads, VA, and a 2006 graduate of Old Dominion University, said she heard about the essay contest on the local news and decided to enter. Open to all residents of North America, interested individuals submitted applications and essays of 200 words or less describing their qualifications for carrying the Olympic Torch.

In her essay, SN Schafer, who enlisted in the Coast Guard Oct. 9, 2007, spoke about what it means to serve her country and her desire to carry the torch on behalf of US servicemembers. “ … I’d represent the thousands of American Military members, and the citizens we protect.”

Although SN Schafer spoke from the heart in her essay, she said she didn’t actually think she’d be selected to carry the torch. When her notification came by e-mail, she says that she was surprised and had mixed emotions about it. “I never get picked for anything. I was a little nervous about being in the limelight, but more than anything, I was really excited.”

After the Beijing Olympic Committee approved her selection, SN Schafer simply had to wait for the big day. An avid runner, she didn’t need much preparation for the relay. “I try to run two miles a day, three days a week, and I knew it wasn’t going to be a marathon run so I didn’t change up my routine,” she says.

Although the Torch Relay is now just a memory for SN Schafer and the citizens of San Francisco, it’s one she’ll remember for years. “It was like time stood still,” she says. “Usually, exciting events pass really fast, but this moved really slowly. I felt like I had a chance to soak it in and really enjoy the experience. … It was an awesome opportunity to take part in and I know I will never forget it.”

SN Schafer also has a very special souvenir from this unique and historical experience—she was given a replica torch as a keepsake. Although the Olympic Torch has many more stops to make along its journey to Beijing, SN Schafer’s torch will be shipped to her father in Hampton Roads for safekeeping.

(May 2008)