The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics came to a close on Sunday. In February, nearly 2,900 athletes from 91 nations competed in the pandemic Games, according to a Team USA press release.The U.S. finished fourth on the medal table, earning a collective 25 medals (8 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze) across all winter sports.
Of the 225 athletes competing for the U.S., at least six were also representing Florida.
Here's how Florida's winter Olympians performed:
Erin Jackson - Speedskating (Ocala, Fla.)
The Ocala native and University of Florida alumna made history by winning gold in the 500-meter speedskate on Sunday, Feb. 13. In 2017, she traded her rollerblades for a pair of ice skates. After just four months of training, Jackson qualified for the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team, becoming thefirst Black woman to make the U.S. Long Track Olympic team. Read more about Jackson's Olympic journey here.
Results:
- Feb. 13 – Women’s 500 meter speedskate: 1st place
Brittany Bowe – Speedskating (Ocala, Fla.)
Brittany Bowe is a three-time Olympian and seven-time world champion in speedskating. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University, where she played collegiate basketball. On Thursday, Feb. 17, Bowe won bronze in the Women's 1000 meter speedskate, earning her first individual Olympic medal. She said she's eager to celebrate in her hometown of Ocala, Florida. Here's more on Bowe's Olympic career.
Results:
- Feb. 7 – Women’s 1,500 meter speedskate: 10th place
- Feb. 13 - Women's 500 meter speedskate: 16th place
- Feb. 17 - Women's 1,000 meter: 3rd place
Joey Mantia – Speedskating (Ocala, Fla.)
Joey Mantia is a three-time Olympian who started professional in-line skating at 17. In the Beijing Games, Mantia placed sixth in the men's 1,500 meter speedskate, third in the men's team pursuit final andfourth in the men's mass start skate.
His inline accolades include 28 world championship titles and over 90 national titles. Around age 25, Mantia decided to take on speedskating.
Results:
- Feb. 8 – Men’s 1,500 meter: 6th place
- Feb. 13 – Men’s team pursuit quarterfinals: 2nd place
- Feb. 15 – Men’s team pursuit finals: 3rd place
- Feb. 19 – Men’s mass start: 4th place
Mia Manganello Kilburg – Speedskating (Crestview, Fla.)
Manganello Kilburg started inline skating at 8 years old. At 13, she swapped her blades for skates to chase her Olympic dream on the ice. Following the 2010 Olympic Trials, Mia chose to take a break from speed skating and began cycling professionally for five years before returning to speed skating in early 2016. To qualify for the 2018 Olympic team, she finished second in the women's mass start speedskate and third in the 1,000- and 1,500-meter races. In the 2022 Beijing Games, Manganello skated her best career time in the women's mass start to place fourth.
Results:
- Feb. 5 – Women’s 3,000 meter: 19th place
- Feb. 7 – Women’s 1,500 meter: 20th place
- Feb. 19 – Women's mass start: 4th place
Nathan Smith — Men's Ice Hockey (Hudson, Fla.)
Smith, 23, is a first-time Olympian and NCAA Champion in 2020 and 2021 from Hudson, Florida. He was a third-round selection by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2018 National Hockey League draft. According to USA Hockey's website, the team's roster includes 15 players currently on NCAA rosters, eight European professionals and two players competing in the AHL. The U.S. men's hockey team lost 3-2 in the quarterfinals against Slovakia to finish fifth overall.
Results:
- USA Hockey finished fifth overall
Josh Williamson — Four-man bobsled (Lake Mary, Fla.)
Williamson, 25, is a former lacrosse player and FSU graduate from Lake Mary, Florida, who qualified as a brakeman for the men's national bobsled team after being discovered during ascouting camp reality show hosted by theU.S. Olympic Committee. On Jan. 28, days before the Games' opening ceremony, Williamson posted on Instagram that he was positive for COVID-19 and wouldn't be flying with the team to Beijing. Day later, on Feb. 3, he updated Facebook that he had "cleared a few days on negative PCR testing." On Feb. 8, he flew separately to Beijing and was able to compete alongside Hunter Church, Kristopher Horn and Charles Volker in the four-man bobsled competition to place 13th overall,according to an NBC recap.
Results:
- Four-man bobsled: finished 13th
- Run 1: (58:91)
- Run 2: (59:70)
- Run 3: (58:96)
- Run 4: (59:49)
WUFT News reporters Melissa Hernandez, Trey Ecker, Madison Panzer and Gabriella Paul contributed to this report.