Joey Mantia gave it his all during his final event at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing on Saturday morning.
Mantia entered the 16-competitor field as one of the favorites and he was seeking his first individual medal. On Tuesday, February 15, Mantia and his teammates earned the bronze medal in the men’s team pursuit event.
The mass start event is unique since all competitors hit the ice at the same time for a 16-lap endurance race. The first lap is considered ‘neutral’ since there is no acceleration or jockeying for position.
Sprint points are awarded after the 4th, 8th, and 12th lap based on positioning, but those points are mainly used to determine 4th through 16th place at the end of the event. Medals are awarded to the first three speed skaters who cross the finish line, regardless of sprint points.
During Saturday’s event, the competition opened up after the first lap. Throughout the early stages of the event, a majority of the competitors remained grouped together as they saved their energy for the last handful of laps.
Mantia stayed near the front third of the pack and he picked up the pace heading into the final lap. He received an unfortunate bump from another speed skater during the final stretch that momentarily slowed him down, but he managed to cross the finish line slightly behind gold medal winner Bart Swings from Belgium.
Korea’s Jae Won Chung was awarded the silver medal. Mantia and Korea’s Seung Hoon Lee appeared to cross the finish line simultaneously, and a photo review was needed to determine the bronze medal winner.
After review, it was determined that Mantia crossed the finish line one-thousandth of a second behind Lee, and Mantia finished in 4th place.
This was the final event for Ocala’s speed skaters. Mantia, along with Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe, will each return home with an Olympic medal from Beijing.
On Thursday, February 17, Bowe won the bronze medal in the women’s 1,000-meter speed skating event. This was her first-ever individual speed skating medal.
On Sunday, February 13, Jackson won the gold medal in the 500-meter event. She became the first black American woman to win an individual speed skating medal.
To view a complete schedule of the remaining events, along with results, visit the 2022 Olympic Winter Games website.