16 minute read
Mantia: The greatest all-around skater ever?
Joey Mantia was 7 when he first started hanging out at the Skate-AWay South skating rink off Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala. He had tried baseball, gymnastics and karate, none of which worked out. So, he turned to roller skating. It was fun and allowed the youngster to play in air conditioning, out of the Florida heat.
As he skated around the roller rink day after day, he got faster and faster. That speed quickly caught the eye of rink owner and renowned inline skating coach Renee Hildebrand.
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Within a year, Mantia was skating on Hildebrand’s competitive inline skating team and winning medals, including a national championship in his first year. Yes, at
Skating Through Life
For Joey Mantia, a lifetime on skates has been ‘magical’
BY BRAD ROGERS
Photo US Speedskating
age 8. He would evolve into a self-described “rink rat” and over the next dozen years go on to win an astounding 28 world championships and set six world records.
It was a remarkable career that made Mantia one of the greatest, if not the greatest, inline skater ever. How great? He won the American Speed Skater of the Year award three years in a row, in 2005, 2006 and 2007. And in his last year as a Junior, Mantia competed in 12 events at the World Championships, winning 10 gold medals and two silvers.
But he wanted more.
IN SEARCH OF GOLD So, the world’s premier inline skater decided he wanted to try what other top inline skaters had -- switch to ice. For one reason: the chance to win an Olympic medal. He packed up and left Ocala for Salt Lake City, Utah, where the national speedskating team trains.
After 12 years of training with the national team and taking part in three Olympic Games (2014, 2018 and this year) Mantia finally won his Olympic medal, a bronze in the team pursuit at the Beijing Games two months ago.
It was what may be the beginning of the end of a long and certainly unexpected journey for the 36-year-old.
And what a journey it’s been.
“I had no idea in high school that this was going to be my life and where it was going to take me,” the Vanguard High School
honor grad said. “It’s not like as a kid I said I wanted to be an Olympian. It just sort of happened for me. It made some really magical things happen.”
Of course, ice skating isn’t inline skating. And Mantia’s introduction to ice skating went, well, not great.
“Think Bambi on ice, but with bigger thighs,” is how he once described it. “To be so good on wheels and so bad on blades. It was a long struggle to keep going and not turn back to inline skating.”
But he learned and excelled, winning world titles and setting records along the way. In fact, last month he won the International Skating Union World Cup championship in the 1500 meters. (Incidentally, Ocala’s other two Olympic speed skaters, Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson, also won World Cup titles this year in the 1000 meters and 500 meters, respectively.)
Yet, for all his success, one thing has eluded Mantia — an Olympic gold medal. It eats at him.
“It sucks,” he said. “I really wanted a gold medal. It just sucks that I couldn’t give it my all.” During the Beijing Games he suffered from “back issues,” which hindered his performance, he said.
Despite his disappointment over not winning gold, he has gained some perspective since the Olympics and now says he’s “ecstatic” to be an Olympic medalist, even if it’s a bronze.
“It’s one of those things that, when it happens, you say that’s not what I wanted,” he said. “But once you get the medal in your hand, it becomes real. It’s something physical. It resonates. It’s the journey.
“If I could give anybody advice, I would say you have to love what you’re doing, not just chasing a gold medal.”
Nevertheless, Mantia knows he has been blessed to be so physically gifted and to have traveled the world doing something at which he excels.
“I’ve never had a real job, and I’m doing OK,” he said. “Not bad, huh?”
THE ‘OCALA CREW’ One of the biggest storylines of the recent Olympics was the irony that Mantia, Bowe and Jackson – all native Ocalans – were standouts for the U.S. speedskating team
but came from a town with no ice skating rink. When Bowe gave up her spot in the Olympic 500 meters to Jackson, who slipped during her time trial, the spotlight on Ocala as a speedskating mecca became white hot. When all three medaled for the U.S., it confirmed what people had been saying: that Ocala is the new epicenter of ice speedskating in the United States.
“Ocala is definitely the speedskating capital of the United States,” Mantia said.
He said the Ocala skaters, which he called “the Ocala crew,” is genuinely close, all having grown under Hildebrand’s tutelage.
“We’re like a miniature family out here,” Mantia said from his Salt Lake City home, which he is in the process of renovating himself. “Being part of the Ocala crew is really an honor.”
Mantia gives all the credit to Hildebrand. It’s easy to see his logic. Each of the Ocala crew come from completely different backgrounds and have different skill sets. Yet, they all ended up at the Olympics, and each won a medal. The common denominator? Renee Hildebrand.
“I always give Renee all the credit for our success,” he said. “Apart from her coaching ability, which is phenomenal, she was a physical therapist, she was always ahead on nutrition. She was always thirsting for knowledge.”
He said each of the Ocala medalists has emerged differently from their experience. Jackson, he said, is “truly gifted” and “is best for the exposure of the sport.” Bowe has emerged as an elite skater and a leader on the U.S. team. And Mantia is the elder statesman of the U.S. team. This year, at 35, he became the oldest man to ever win a World Cup race.
For Hildebrand, who still stays in regular contact with her three proteges, it is rewarding to see them achieve such success. So, who’s the best?
“They’re all such great human beings, it’s impossible to pick one,” she said. “It’s like asking who’s your favorite child.”
And what is it that made these three Ocalans who are so different successful?
“Some say it’s the Nay factor,” said Hildebrand, who in her roller derby days was known as Nasty Nay. “They call me Nay. They say I make them want to skate harder. When I believe in them, it helps them believe in themselves. And, of course, there is a history now.”
Photo courtesy Joey Mantia
WHAT’S NEXT? Mantia will be 40 when the next Olympics roll around and he is not sure he can make it
to a fourth games.
“At the age of 36, the game is ‘can you stay healthy?’ It’s hard,” he said.
He said he expects to compete for at least two more years, and then he is uncertain what he will do.
“It’s not the end of the road yet, but I know I’m one bad day away from it being over,” Mantia said. “Part of what is keeping
Photo by Ralph Demilio
me going is I don’t know what I want to do next. It’s kind of weird.”
One idea is to return to inline skating as a coach holding clinics around the world.
“My heart is really with inline skating,” he said. “It’s weird, but I never really fell in love with the ice. With inline, I loved every aspect of it. I used to get up at 2 in the morning sometimes and just skate around Ocala because I loved it so much.
“I wish inline skating was an Olympic sport (which Hildebrand once lobbied for) because my life would be so different,” he added.
In the meantime, Mantia has plenty of hobbies and interests.
He owned a coffee shop on the University of Utah campus until the pandemic tore into his business. He’s thinking of reopening it.
He taught himself to play the piano by watching YouTube videos, but concedes, “I don’t read music, but I know my way around the piano pretty well.”
He loves to ride his motorcycle and go bicycling and is known to take frequent 100mile training rides.
He is known for his brutal training workouts -- his mantra is “Every day is LEG day.” During the Olympics, Yahoo Sports published an article with the headline, “Well, I Found the Most Humongous Thighs Competing at The Beijing Olympics, And They Belong to Speed Skater Joey Mantia.”
He has done numerous YouTube videos of his leg workouts – doing the filming, audio and editing himself.
He is a bachelor but has a girlfriend -- fellow Beijing bronze medalist Hanne Desmet, a Belgian speedskater.
With all that, Mantia acknowledges his is a pretty grand life.
His friend and agent Peter Quinn, a former speedskater himself, says Mantia has nothing left to prove to the sport or himself.
“Joey is one of the best all-around skaters – inline skating and on ice – the world has ever seen. Ever,” Quinn said. “If Joey Mantia retires, he retires as one of the best in his sport ever. But he didn’t get what he went for, so he is disappointed.”
Maybe. Mantia didn’t get his gold, but he took a journey few do. A journey that was magical.
“Looking back, if I had to do it all over again, I’d do it the same way 10 times over.”
Ocala’s Joey Mantia won a bronze medal in speed skating’s team pursuit at the Beijing Olympics, but the three-time Olympian and reigning world champion in the 1500 meters believes he deserves a second bronze medal and plans to challenge the results to try and claim it. In what was likely his final Olympic race, Mantia finished fourth in the mass start, a nearly four-mile race that he describes as “the Wild West.” But it was the closest of finishes. Lee Seung-hoon of South Korea ultimately won the bronze, officially beating Mantia over the finish line by 2/1000 of a second. How close is that? Scientists say it takes 1/10 of a second to blink your eye. Mantia and his agent, however, say he was robbed. They claim Lee grabbed Mantia’s arm just before the finish line, giving Lee enough momentum to edge past Mantia. Photos of the moment seem to show Lee grabbing the American. Now Mantia wants what would be his second Olympic medal. “I feel like I earned it,” he told OM. “I feel like I got screwed. I haven’t said much about it so far, but I’m going to appeal the results. We might have to go to court.” Mantia’s agent, Patrick Quinn, a former speedskater himself, was more explicit about the outcome and the failure of Olympics officials to review the alleged grab by Lee. “It’s disgusting, grotesque” Quin said. “He was robbed. The evidence is so clear. You can see the guy grab him. It’s terrible.” Mantia and Quinn say they plan to pursue their challenge of the results, even if that means going to court. “What we’re saying is he was actually held 5 feet from the finish line, and you can see it on video,” Quinn said.
Photo Sue Ogrocki, AP
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Hawthorne Estates: Where Ocala's seniors turn for independent living
When Gerald and June Nettles retired to Ocala in 1995, they built their dream home, a sprawling four-bedroom house on a big lot. They loved their home, but as is the case with many seniors, it became too much to keep up.
So, Gerald, now 95, and June, 90, decided they needed to find someplace to live where they could take it easy and get some help but still live independently.
After looking at their options in Ocala, the native West Virginia couple chose Hawthorne Estates.
“We like it here,” said Gerald, as the couple sat in Hawthorne Estates’ spacious lobby. “They have a lot of things to do, if you want, and it’s close to our son, who lives in Ocala.”
Hawthorne Estates, located at 3211 SW 42nd St., Ocala, provides independent living in an affordable, resort-style setting. Its 93 spacious units provide residents with their own residence with an array of services from meals and utilities to recreation and social activities.
The Nettles, who will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary this October, hated to give up their home – it wasn’t easy.
“It was a big change for us,” said June, who retired from the Tupperware Corp. “To give up our home we had built and lived in, well, it was hard.”
But what the Nettles found at Hawthorne Estates was a place that provides their meals, cleans their apartment and offers an array of activities from card games to exercise classes to weekly movie nights. Their two-bedroom apartment, they say, is plenty roomy, utilizing the second bedroom as an office/exercise room.
And, most important, there is always someone on the Hawthorne Estates staff to lend a hand if the couple needs some help.
“If you need something, they do it for you,” said Gerald, who worked as a coal miner, a steelworker and a paint salesman before retiring and moving to Ocala.
Pat Smith is a new Hawthorne resident who likes to do a lot of things, to keep busy. For her, Hawthorne is the perfect mix of good living.
“There’s so much to do,” said Smith, an energetic 91-year-old who likes to exercise. She is currently trying to organize a regular exercise class at Hawthorne, which has an onsite gym.
“I like to exercise. I like to walk. I like to keep busy.”
In addition to the various activities that Smith enjoys, she said her one-bedroom apartment is one of the most appealing parts about living at Hawthorne. She said she looked at other independent living facilities in Ocala and none compared to Hawthorne Estates in terms of size, space and amenities.
Her one-bedroom apartment has a balcony, as well as ample closet and kitchen space.
One aspect of Hawthorne Estates living that all the residents praise is its activities. There is always something happening, from card games to bingo to the weekly Friday night Happy Hour, something Smith particularly enjoys, with its snacks, drinks and live music.
Pat Sapienza has lived in Ocala for more than 50 years, so she knows the community well. After raising five kids and a lifetime of volunteer service, Sapienza contracted COVID-19. It drove her to look for a place like Hawthorne. Like the Nettles and Smith, she looked at her retirement living options in Ocala and chose Hawthorne.
The biggest draw, Sapienza said, was the
Gerald and June Nettles
Pat Smith Pat Sapienza
size of the rooms, particularly the kitchens, when compared to other independent living facilities in Ocala. And her one-bedroom apartment has a balcony, so she has a place to grow her plants. (“I don’t miss my garden so much.”)
Hawthorne gives Sapienza a chance to live on her own terms while always knowing someone is there if she needs help.
“After I got COVID and got sick, I didn’t want to live alone anymore,” she said.
She liked the fact that Hawthorne provided two meals a day – lunch and dinner -- that she described as “good food.” Like the Nettles and Smith, she too is a big fan of the activities provided at Hawthorne Estates. There’s bingo, bridge, a garden club and, of course, Friday night Happy Hour.
It is the staff’s responsiveness to residents’ needs, though, that Sapienza says makes living at Hawthorne Estates such a pleasure.
“I’m pleased,” she said. “The people are so friendly. They all try to please the residents. And if you don’t show up for a meal, they call your room, ‘Are you OK?’ They don’t monitor you, but they keep an eye on you.”
The services and amenities included in the cost of Hawthorne Estates living are numerous. All utilities except personal cell phone – electric, water and sewer, cable television, wireless internet and trash removal – are included.
Hawthorne residents also can schedule transportation on the facility’s van through the front desk, or they are welcome to have their own vehicle, with free parking on the property.
For those who want to see a doctor without having to leave the facility, Hawthorne Estates has an outside concierge physician service that will come and treat residents in their homes.
Every resident has a choice of what size apartment they want, depending on their needs. They can choose between studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. The apartments have a full-size modern kitchen, individual heating and cooling units, plush wall-to-wall carpeting, a large bathroom with safety features, spacious closets, blinds, screened porches and smoke alarms and a sprinkler system.
Hawthorne Estates is a smoke-free facility, too.
In addition to all that, residents are provided weekly apartment cleaning as well as weekly linen service. Laundry facilities are located in convenient areas throughout the facility, although personal laundry service is also available for an extra fee.
Hawthorne Estates is also conveniently located near the Paddock Mall and State Road 200 commercial areas.
In addition to the independent living residences, Hawthorne Estates is a continuing care retirement community that also provides a 120-bed Skilled Nursing Facility that provides in-house rehab and outpatient therapy as well as a 26-bed secured memory care unit and a 36-bed assisted living facility.
Anyone interested in checking Hawthorne Estates out is invited to attend any of the Friday night Happy Hours.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Hawthorne of Ocala 3211 SW 42nd St., Ocala hawthornevillageofocala.com (352) 237-7776, ext. 255
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