World Championships:

Mantia Wins Final Gold
U.S. star withstands Italian charge

By Robert "Just the Factoids" Burnson
Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007

USA's Joey Mantia won the final event of the 2007 World Speed Skating Championships today with a narrow victory in the marathon against a hard-charging Italian team.

The win gave Mantia his seventh gold medal of the World Championships and cemented his position as the world's top inline speed skater.

The 21-year-old from Olympia, WA, has now won the marathon three years in a row at Worlds.

Down to the Wire

As it has for the last three years, the men's marathon came down to the field sprint, with Mantia leading from the start. But this year, Mantia had a battle on his hands.

In the final hundred meters, the Italian team of Luca Saggiorato, Francesco Zangarini and Luca Presti mounted a furious charge. Saggiorato caught Mantia on the inside.

The two were shoulder to shoulder as they approached the finish line. But as Mantia did Friday night in the 5000-meter relay, he thrust his left foot forward in an enormous hawk to beat Saggiorato by a few inches.

Zangarini, skating on the outside and just behind Mantia, finished third.

Women's Race

In the women's race, the Colombian team of Kelly Martinez and Liana Holguin proved too much for New Zealand's Nicole Begg and China Taipei's Yi Chin Pan.

Martinez took the lead in the sprint as Holguin did her best to slow the pace of Begg and Pan.

Martinez won with a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 9 seconds.

In the final meters, Begg tried to pass Holguin, who was in second place. But Holguin hung on for the silver.

Juniors

Colombia also won the top two spots in the junior men's (under 18) marathon. Carlos Puerto Canon took the gold with a time of 1:08:38. Joseph Izquierdo got the silver; South Korea's Ki Dong Kwok, the bronze.

The top U.S. finisher was Henry Galbraith, who finished 12th.

Italy claimed the top two spots in the junior women's race. Francesca Lollobrigida won on a wet road course with a time of 1:22:08. Roberta Casu was second; South Korea's Mi Young Kim, third.

The top U.S. finisher was Alexandra Harris, who finished 15th.

Rain in the morning soaked the road course, but it was dry and the sun was shining by the end of the men's race.

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