Joey Mantia

Most influential person in career

Roller speed skating coach Renee Hildebrand, and speed skating coach Ryan Shimabukuro. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018; teamusa.org, 19 Dec 2019)

Name of coach	Ryan Shimabukuro [national], USA
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began roller speed skating in 1996, and switched to speed skating in 2011 in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America.

Other sports

He has represented the United States of America in roller speed skating, winning a total of 26 gold medals at the world championships between 2004 and 2010. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Sep 2017)

Reason for choosing this sport

Previously a roller speed skater, he took up speed skating because he wanted a new challenge. "I began to feel stagnant. It was such a feeling of redundancy that I was spiralling into a mental state of fatigue and I knew it was time for a change. It was a thrill I had never experienced before, and as a result I possessed an undying motivation to be on skates every minute of the day."

Awards and honours	He received the Eric Heiden Athlete of the Year Award at the 2021 US Speedskating Congress. (US Speedskating Facebook page, 22 May 2021) He received USA Roller Sports' Elmer Ringeisen Sportsmanship Award in 2007 for his sportsmanship and positive behaviour on and off the track. (teamusa.org, 18 Feb 2008) He was named US Speed Skater of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007. (whatsupusana.com, 12 Jan 2020)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"If you ain't first, you're last." (Athlete, 10 Nov 2017)

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Hero / Idol	US speed skaters Eric Heiden and Brittany Bowe, US distance runner Steve Prefontaine. (nbcolympics.com, 03 Oct 2017)
Nicknames	Supermantia (nbcolympics.com, 03 Oct 2017)
Other information	INLINE TO ICE He switched from inline to ice skating in 2011, and admitted that he struggled initially with the change in technique. "My biggest problem was that I was stubborn when I came over [to speed skating]. I thought that I knew more than the coaches did, and that did not help me a lot. [Technically] I had to de-train myself not to double-push. Still, if you watch closely, you can see that bob up and down a little bit. There's a sweet spot in inline skating that I always felt was really efficient for me, that felt like home. Ice skating for me is not natural at all." (isu.org, 08 Feb 2018) OTHER ACTIVITIES He opened a coffee shop inside the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. "I opened it with a friend of mine who is an incredible barista from Portland, not because I have a love for coffee, but because I have a strong ambition to be my own boss and jumped on an opportunity when it presented itself. I recognised my business partner's passion for making coffee by the way he talked about it, his love for it reminded me of how I am with speed skating." (whatsupusana.com, 12 Jan 2020; Athlete, 16 Nov 2018; nbcolympics.com, 03 Oct 2017)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning gold in the mass start at the 2017 World Single Distances Championships in Gangneung, Republic of Korea. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018)
Hobbies	Playing the piano. (teamusa.org, 09 Dec 2021)
Milestones	At age 35 years and 300 days, he became the oldest male speed skater to win the 1500m at a World Cup event when he triumphed in 2021 in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. The win also made him the oldest speed skater [male or female] representing the United States of America to claim an individual title at a World Cup event. One week later, at age 35 years and 307 days, he also won the 1500m at the World Cup event in Calgary, AB, Canada. (teamusa.org, 09 Dec 2021, 04 Dec 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 14 Nov 2022) He became the first speed skater to win three gold medals in mass start at the world single distances championships, when he claimed his third title at the 2021 edition of the tournament in Heerenveen, Netherlands. He also won gold in the event in 2017 and 2019. (SportsDeskOnline, 23 Nov 2021)
Injuries	In November 2022 he announced his intention to not compete at World Cup events during the 2022/23 season in order to rest his lower back. He had been affected by back problems at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (Instagram profile, 11 Nov 2022; washingtonpost.com, 19 Feb 2022)
Famous relatives	His partner Hanne Desmet has represented Belgium in short track, and won bronze in the women's 1000m at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (Instagram profile, 16 Feb 2022; vrt.be, 12 Feb 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 14 Nov 2022)