Joey Mantia
Inline and speed skater
This photo was made in 2003. Joey Mantia, 17 years old, won already two gold medals in in-line speedskating at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Next to him at the photo is Renee Hildebrand, of Belleview, Team USA coach at Pan American Games and Mantia's personal coach. (photo made by Jannet Walsh/Star-Banner/2003).
Competing in inline speed skating tournaments he won 28 World Championship titles, three Pan American Games titles, 15 World Cup Gold medals, 12 Junior World titles and over 90 national titles.
Competing in inline speed skating tournaments he won 28 World Championship titles, three Pan American Games titles, 15 World Cup Gold medals, 12 Junior World titles and over 90 national titles.
But in 2011 he moved to speed skating on ice because he wanted to participate in the Olympic games. In the beginning, he had great difficulties with ice speed skating. As the videos of the skating movement of Mantia and Sven Kramer showed the difference in style is so big that one can imagine that it was not so easy for him to move from inline skating to speed skating on ice. He suggested that he learned it in a wrong way.
In 2013 it went better and he started to win medals in world cups on ice. His first medal was a gold medal on the 1500m.
In 2014 during the Olympic games in Sochi he realized his dream of an Olympic medal by winning a bronze medal with the USA team the team pursuit.
His participating at the different distances in the Olympic games did not lead to a success even not on the 1500m although several times the difference with the winners of medal was minimal Participating in the world cups he was more successful. For example, in the season 2015/16 he won 4 times a medal on the 1500m.
When the mass start was introduced, he could take advantage of his experience in inline skating competing with several skaters in the same race.
In 2017, at the world championship, he won on the mass start for the first time a gold medal
In 2019 and 2021 he repeated this result. This was the crown on his career as speed skater on ice.
The video below shows how Joey Mantia won his third mass start race during the world championships.
In 2013 it went better and he started to win medals in world cups on ice. His first medal was a gold medal on the 1500m.
In 2014 during the Olympic games in Sochi he realized his dream of an Olympic medal by winning a bronze medal with the USA team the team pursuit.
His participating at the different distances in the Olympic games did not lead to a success even not on the 1500m although several times the difference with the winners of medal was minimal Participating in the world cups he was more successful. For example, in the season 2015/16 he won 4 times a medal on the 1500m.
When the mass start was introduced, he could take advantage of his experience in inline skating competing with several skaters in the same race.
In 2017, at the world championship, he won on the mass start for the first time a gold medal
In 2019 and 2021 he repeated this result. This was the crown on his career as speed skater on ice.
The video below shows how Joey Mantia won his third mass start race during the world championships.
He participated 3 times at the Olympic games, he realized his goal to win an Olympic medal but 2022 after the Olympic games, he decided that it was time to stop given that he was at that time 37 years old.