The Nay Has It Renee Hildebrand has built an empire of skating champions from her base in Ocala BY CARLTON REESE
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curious world clamors for answers, turning its inquisitive gaze toward a small southern town suddenly thrust into the limelight of Winter Olympics folklore and glory. How can it be that a town where one might find the same number of ice skates as one would catcher’s mitts in Drammen, Norway, churn out speed skaters not just of elite status but worthy to stand on the podium of the world’s grandest stage? A Winter Olympics tale with its origins in Ocala, Florida, one may think to be of the sort parallel to the “Eddie the Eagle’’ spectacle or the Jamaican bobsled fiasco; in short, a narrative of the silly underdog that is nothing more than a jester to distract from the serious competition. But no one is laughing, and no one is simply standing with folded arms – they are asking questions. Is there something in the water supply of Marion County? Is the mineral-rich soil so obliging to equine strength and stamina also beneficial to hominine speed and agility? Does some covert rink and military program exist to forge ruthless skating automatons? The questions arise from a simple puzzling fact: No city in North America pro-
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| APR 2022 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM
Brittany Bowe, Erin Jackson and Joey Mantia proudly display their medals. Photo by Ralph Demilio
duced more medal winning speed skaters at the recent Winter Olympics in Beijing, and only Ottawa, Canada can boast of a greater collection of total medals. The notion of champion ice speed skaters born and raised in Ocala seems as preposterous as Amish hip hop singers or comedians from North Korea. The names Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe and Joey Mantia are forever etched in the pantheon of Ocala sports icons, having brought home a gold and two bronze medals, respectively, from Beijing.
Another name that should be on that list, and the likely answer to all the former questions, is that of Renee Hildebrand. An inline skating “whisperer” of sorts, Hildebrand has forged an international reputation for producing world champion inline speed skaters, many who have made the successful transition to the ice. A skating instructor in Ocala since 1991, Hildebrand coaches out of the Skate-A-Way South rink and trains racers at Brick City Park (that is, when she is not in Holland or other exotic destinations
