Brittany Bowe, Joey Mantia Add To U.S. Medal Haul At Speedskating World Cup

Joey Mantia celebrates victory after he competes in the men's mass start final at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships on Feb. 13, 2021 in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Olympic medalist Brittany Bowe followed up her 1,000-meter gold medal on Saturday with silver in the 1,500 Sunday, and Olympian Joey Mantia earned bronze Saturday in the 1,500 to make a total of five medals for Team USA at the long track speedskating world cup opener in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.
Bowe, the 2015 world champion at 1,500 meters, finished .60 seconds behind Miho Takagi of Japan, the reigning Olympic silver medalist at the distance. It was a turn of the tables from the 1,000, when Bowe topped Takagi by .59 seconds. Bowe, 33, also placed eighth and 10th in the 500 on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Mantia was the lone U.S. man to medal in Poland. His time of 1:46.388 was .20 seconds off of second-place Zhongyan Ning of China and .23 seconds off winner Min Seok Kim of South Korea.
Mantia, 35, was the bronze medalist in the 1,500 at the 2020 world championships. Mantia is a three-time world champion in mass start, including at the most recent event in 2021. Mantia placed 12th in that event in Poland.
In addition to Bowe’s gold medal, Erin Jackson also won two gold medals to get Team USA off to a great start in the world cup opener. The circuit next moves to Stavanger, Norway, for competition Nov. 19-21. The world cup schedule includes five events this year, up from two during the pandemic-altered schedule held for 2020-21.