“I pretty much train every day, I don’t really have a day off,” explained Mantia of his rigorous workout schedule. “My day off is, I go out on the bike and go easy. Maybe 10k.”

For Mantia, 18, the preparation has paid off. The Vanguard High School senior claimed two gold medals last August in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at the Pan American Games.

The only junior skater in the Men’s Combined Short Distance races and the Men’s Combined Long Distance races, Mantia dominated his elder western hemisphere opponents.

“We had four races out there, two sprints and two long distances. They gave an overall sprint champion and an overall distance champion. I got second in the time trial and won all of the other races. So I got two gold [medals].”

Following a clean sweep in the Dominican Republic, Mantia returned to Florida and distributed his medals to the most important people in his inline career, his coach - Renee Hildebrand - and his father - Joe Mantia Sr.

“My coach has been the best coach I could have, everything I could ask for so long. She has always pushed me through the hard times and she’s been there through the good times and the bad times. Without her I wouldn’t be where I am today. I owe a lot of my success to her as well as my parents. If they wouldn’t have pushed me through it and supported me I wouldn’t be able to do it either.”

Mantia now has his sites set on bigger prizes, starting with qualifying for the 2004 U.S. World Championship team at the 22nd Annual Outdoor National Banked Track and Road Speed Skating Championships, May 21-June 3, in Colorado Springs and Fountain, Colo.

Five skaters will qualify for the 2004 World Championships, to be held in Italy, Aug. 28 – Sept. 11, and despite the Nationals being one of his first senior races, Mantia hopes to be one of them.

“I think I’ll make the team, I think I’ll do pretty good this year.” Mantia added, “The team shouldn’t be extremely hard to make.”

His confidence extends to the World Championships, where his goals are clear.

“It’s definitely a different ball game when you step up from junior to senior. Everybody is a lot faster and they are way more experienced. Hopefully I can medal this year, if not gold, then whatever. But I definitely have good chances, I think. I’m pretty confident.”

Mantia even wants to compete some day in the Olympic Games - the Olympic Winter Games, that is. Even with limited access to ice skating facilities in Florida, Mantia has begun the tricky transition from asphalt to ice.

“It’s somewhat difficult. Once you get on the ice and you’re on there for a while then you start getting more comfortable. When you first hop on the ice it’s kind of different if you’ve been skating a lot of inline lately. It’s similar, but definitely different.”

He has tried some short track skating at local rinks in his hometown. Mantia plans to increase his ice time this summer by moving to Orlando to attend college and train with a local short track team at one of two ice sheets in the metropolitan area.

Mantia would also like to try his hand at long track speedskating, possibly training at the Utah Olympic Oval.

Always the competitor, Mantia has not ruled out a run at the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team.

“Definitely 2010 if not 2006. I don’t really have a whole lot of time for 2006 right now because it takes a long time to train and be comfortable and be at the level. You can’t just hop in and expect to make the team, which I would love too. I’ll try to, but I don’t know if that is going to happen. But definitely 2010, I have my eyes set on.”

Mantia couples his immense talent with a love for racing.

He also loves to win. “I like winning and I do on inline. It’s fun.”