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American speedskater Mia Manganello won a bronze medal in the women’s mass start on Saturday at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium in her final race.
Manganello, 36, made a push in the last lap to land her on the podium. The Netherlands’ Marjike Groenewoud won gold, while Canada’s Ivanie Blondin narrowly edged out Manganello to win silver.
For Manganello, it was her first individual medal in three Olympics appearances. She won a bronze medal in women’s team pursuit in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games.
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Mia Manganello of the U.S. celebrates winning the bronze medal in the women’s mass start final speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 21, 2026. (Ben Curtis/AP Photo)
However, Manganello’s journey to the podium has not been linear. The Crestview, Florida, native competed in two U.S. Olympics trials in speed skating for the Vancouver Games in 2010, but did not make the team.
She then switched sports and became a professional cyclist. After six years, she returned to speed skating in 2016 and made the U.S. team for the Pyeongchang Games and won the aforementioned bronze medal in women’s team pursuit.
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Mia Manganello of the U.S. celebrates winning the bronze medal on the podium of the mass start speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 21, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
In the 2022 Beijing Games, Manganello finished fourth in the women’s mass start, just missing out on the podium. In 2025, Manganello won her first International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup mass start race.
In her final Olympic race, she brought home bronze.
Manganello’s bronze medal is the U.S. women’s first medal in speed skating at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
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Mia Manganello of the U.S., left, is congratulated by teammate Greta Myers after winning the bronze medal in the women’s mass start final speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 21, 2026. (Bernat Armangue/AP Photo)
There was one other American in the race, Greta Myers, who finished 12th. Myers and Manganello embraced after the race.
Manganello’s bronze medal gave the United States 31 medals for the Olympic Games, which broke a tie with Italy for the second most medals. Norway has the most total medals with 40.
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