Joey Mantia

Joey Mantia (born February 7, 1986) is an American speed skating Olympian, 28-time world champion, and a world record holder. He also won two gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Games[2] and a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games. He won the American Speed Skater of the Year award three times in a row, in 2005, 2006 and 2007,[3] and the 2007 Elmer Ringeisen Sportsmanship Award.[4] In October 2010, after winning two world titles at the inline skating championships in Colombia, he was ranked second among male competitors in the USOC Athlete of the Month competition.[5]

Joey Mantia
Joey Mantia in 2007
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1986-02-07) February 7, 1986
Ocala, Florida, United States
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportSpeed skating
Event(s)1500 m, Mass start

As of January 7, 2010, Mantia held the world records for the road race over 500 m (38.6 seconds), 10,000 m (13 minutes, 46.801 seconds) and 20,000 m (28 minutes, 56.189 seconds), and the world records for the track race over 300 m (24.250 seconds) and 15,000 m (22 minutes, 32.644 seconds).[6]

Early life

Joey Mantia started skating on roller blades as a self-described "rink rat," often asking his parents to bring him to the local indoor skating rink.[7] He spent a lot of time at public skating sessions and learned about speed skating by watching inline skating practice at the rink.[7] After experiencing inline speed skating, Mantia decided to dedicate his life to "becoming the best speed skater in the world".[7]

Speed skating career

In 2010, Mantia switched from inline speed skating to speed skating on ice. He first moved to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and then to Salt Lake City, Utah, to train with the national team two years later.[7] Mantia finished fourth at the 2011 US speed skating championships over 5000 m,[8] tenth in the 1000 m and eighth in the 1500 m.

In early 2013, Mantia made his debut on the World Cup competition circuit.[7] He found success less than a year later, at the Berlin World Cup in December 2013 where he finished first in the 1500 m, beating out his teammate Shani Davis, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 1500 m, and Russia's Denis Yuskov, the reigning world champion, to win gold.[9]

Mantia represented Team USA at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics where he finished 15th in the 1000 m, 22nd in the 1500 m and 7th in the team pursuit.[10] In January 2018, Mantia qualified for the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team, winning the 1000 m and 1500 m events.[11] He also qualified for the mass start.[12]

Personal records
Personal records[13]
Men's speed skating
Event Result Date Location Notes
500 m35.06December 28, 2013Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City
1000 m1:07.34March 9, 2019Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City
1500 m1:42.16February 16, 2020Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City
3000 m3:40.76December 30, 2016Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City
5000 m6:28.50March 14, 2012Olympic Oval, Calgary
10000 m13:54.13January 13, 2013Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City

As of January 17, 2018, his ranking on the all-time Adelskalender is 65th.[14]

Personal life

Mantia is an investor and owner in Coffee Lab, a coffee shop located on the University of Utah campus. In his free time, Mantia taught himself to play piano.[10]

Sponsorships

Mantia has appeared in XFINITY commercials,[15] and a Giorgio Armani short film entitled The Scent of Life by Acqua di Giò – Joey Mantia – Episode 2.[16]

References
  1. olympics.cbc.ca. "Joey Mantia". The Athletes – Sochi 2014. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  2. "Ocalan is Pan Am Games Winner". Ocala Star-Banner. August 13, 2003. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  3. "Speed Skater of the Year". USArollersports.org. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  4. "Ermer Ringeisen Sportsmanship Award". USArollersports.org. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  5. "Taylor Phinney wins USOC Athlete of the Month honor for October". TeamUSA.org. November 12, 2010. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  6. "FIRS world speed skating records". USArollersports.org. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  7. "Who is Joey Mantia?". NBC Olympics. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  8. Cheek, Joey (November 4, 2011). "Jonathan Kuck Wins Interesting Men's 5k, Maria Lamb Wins 3k at US Speedskating Champs". DailyHouse.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  9. "Joey Mantia wins Berlin 1500m; Shani Davis 8th". OlympicTalk. December 6, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  10. "Who is Joey Mantia?". NBC Olympics. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  11. "Joey Mantia". Team USA. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  12. Shinn, Peggy (January 7, 2018). "Brian Hansen Wins Mass Start at Speedskating Olympic Trials, Emery Lehman Named To Team". Team USA. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  13. "Joey Mantia". speedskatingresults.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  14. Stenlund, Evert. "Adel". Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  15. "XFINITY Mobile TV Commercial, 'Three Speeds' Featuring Joey Mantia". iSpot.tv. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  16. ArmaniBeauty (September 25, 2017), The Scent of Life by Acqua di Giò – Joey Mantia – Episode 2, retrieved January 17, 2018
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