Joey Mantia Wins Gold at Berlin World Cup
On Friday, Joey Mantia earned his first World Cup victory in Berlin, Germany, finishing the 1500 meter race with a blazing fast time of 1:45.80. After struggling in the same event earlier this year in Calgary, Joey was able to find his groove in Berlin, by earning a gold medal in only his second race in the “A” division. What makes Mantia’s victory ultra impressive is that this race was stacked with a ton of great speed skaters, most of which had far more time training on the ice. It was no small feat for Mantia to win an event that included stiff competition from so many former Speed Skating Champions, including the 2013 1500 Meter Single Distance World Speed Skating Champion from Russia, Denis Yuskov, and US Olympic Champion, Shani Davis.
People outside of the inline speed skating world might be surprised that Joey Mantia was able to pull off a win this big so quickly, but those of us who were lucky enough to have witnessed his growth in the sport of inline speed skating knew it was only a matter of time.
(Berlin) Men’s 1500 Meter Speed Skating Race Results:
1. Joey Mantia- USA – Time: 1:45:80
2. Zbigniew Brodka – POL – Time: 1:45:83
3. Denis Yukov – RUS – Time: 1:46:14
4. Sverre Lunde – NDR – Time: 1:46:37
5. Denis Kuzin- KAZ – Time: 1:46:43
6. Rhian Ket – NED – Time: 1:46:44
7. Konrad Niedzwiedzki- POL – Pompano Beach, FL – Time: 1:46:67
8. Shani Davis – USA – Arlington, MA – Time: 1:46:74
9. Havard Bokko- NDR – Woodbury MN- Time: 1:47:00
10. Mark Tuitert- NED – Praha, CZE – Floyd VA, Time: 1:47:24
Front Page Image courtesy of (AP Photo/Alexei Filippov)
