White Bear Lake speedskater Giorgia Birkeland reaches Olympic finals

BEIJING — Joey Mantia missed out on an Olympic medal by .002 of a second. Mia Manganello Kilburg's margin wasn't quite so minuscule, but she also finished in fourth place on a day of near-misses by the U.S. speedskating team at the Beijing Olympics.

As for Giorgia Birkeland, she couldn't have been prouder of her race, even though she wasn't quite as close to the podium. Birkeland, of White Bear Lake, finished 12th Saturday in the women's mass start, reaching the finals at the Beijing Games in her first mass start race at the senior international level.

Mantia has called the mass start "NASCAR on ice,'' and it lived up to that nickname on the final day of speedskating in Beijing. The women's and men's races were packed with grabbing, pushing and jostling, punctuated by the occasional wipeout.

Bart Swings won the men's race, giving Belgium its first Winter Olympics gold since 1948. South Korea's Chung Jae Won and Lee Seung Hoon were second and third. Mantia lost the bronze by about an inch, and he said he felt he was pulled back by Lee as they reached the finish line.

Irene Schouten of the Netherlands won the women's race, with Canada's Ivanie Blondin second and Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida third.

Manganello Kilburg said the women's race was "extremely aggressive,'' even by the wild standards of the mass start. Birkeland agreed, though it hardly bothered her.

"It was honestly kind of crazy,'' Birkeland said. "The girls were super scrappy and super aggressive, but it was still super fun.

"To get through the semi was a good confidence booster, and to actually make [the finals] was really good. It meant a lot.''

Mass start races are relatively new to the Olympics, joining the Winter Games program in 2018. Unlike other speedskating events, in which skaters compete two at a time against the clock, the mass start sends as many as 24 out in one group. Skaters have to be strong on their feet as well as fast, given all the bumping and jockeying for position over the 16 laps.

There are four sprint races within the race, when skaters go all-out for a lap and receive points for a top-three time. While the first three athletes across the finish line win the medals, the rest of the standings are determined by sprint points.

Birkeland waited nearly the length of the Olympics to make her Winter Games debut, with the mass start — her only race — scheduled for the second-to-last day of competition. But she got to her first Olympics earlier than expected.

At age 19, Birkeland is just at the beginning of her senior international career. A former member of St. Paul's Midway Speedskating Club, she began racing when she was 8 years old.

Manganello Kilburg, 32, is among her admirers, calling Birkeland "a huge star to come'' at last month's Olympic trials. Birkeland won the mass start at the trials, earning a place on the team for Beijing as a coaches' discretionary selection. It marked another step forward after an outstanding run in the junior ranks, including an 11th-place overall finish at the 2020 world junior long track championships.

Now living in Utah and training with the U.S. national program, Birkeland was just hoping to make the finals Saturday. Of the 28 skaters who started, 17 made the cut, and Birkeland placed sixth in her heat to advance.

Manganello Kilburg said it was "phenomenal'' for the U.S. to get both skaters in the Olympic women's final.

"Giorgia had a lot of nervous energy going into this competition,'' Manganello Kilburg said. "As her teammate and family, I just wanted the best for her. And she exceeded expectations, by far. I'm extremely proud of her.''

Despite the aggressive tactics, Birkeland stayed on her feet and skated well. She said she learned a lot from her first Olympic experience, knowledge she can use in a career expected to take her to many more big races.

"After doing this one, the next mass start will be way easier,'' she said. "I'm really proud to represent the U.S.''