Florida Senate - 2022 (NP) SR 1998
By Senator Baxley
12-03047A-22 20221998__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing the Olympic achievements of
3 Ocala athletes Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe, and Joey
4 Mantia.
5
6 WHEREAS, Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe, and Joey Mantia,
7 three world-class speed skaters from Ocala, represented the
8 United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China,
9 with Erin Jackson bringing home a gold medal and Brittany Bowe
10 and Joey Mantia bringing home bronze medals, and
11 WHEREAS, because Ocala has no ice rink, all three started
12 out as inline skaters on the speed inline team coached by Renee
13 Hildebrand before moving on to speed skating on the ice, and
14 WHEREAS, the three speed skaters also competed for the
15 United States in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South
16 Korea, with Bowe bringing home a bronze medal in the women’s
17 team pursuit event, and
18 WHEREAS, Erin Jackson, who also competes in roller derby
19 with the Jacksonville RollerGirls of the Women’s Flat Track
20 Derby Association, is a world-champion inline skater who was
21 named United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year
22 for Roller Sports in 2012 and 2013 before making the transition
23 to competing on the ice in 2016, and
24 WHEREAS, Erin Jackson claimed a spot on Team USA for the
25 2018 Winter Olympics after only 4 months of experience racing on
26 the ice, and
27 WHEREAS, Erin Jackson won the gold medal in the women’s
28 500-meter speed skating event in Beijing, becoming the first
29 African-American woman ever to win a medal in speed skating and
30 the first American woman to win Olympic gold in speed skating
31 since 2002, and
32 WHEREAS, like her teammate and friend Erin Jackson,
33 Brittany Bowe first made her mark as a world-champion inline
34 skater before making the transition to racing on the ice and
35 moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, to train in 2010, and
36 WHEREAS, at the 2022 Team USA trials, Brittany Bowe gave up
37 her spot in the 500-meter speed skating event so that Erin
38 Jackson, who slipped in her race at the trials and barely missed
39 qualifying, could make the roster, and
40 WHEREAS, Brittany Bowe was one of two athletes chosen to
41 carry the American flag in the 2022 Olympic opening ceremonies
42 and went on to compete in the 500-, 1,000-, and 1,500-meter
43 events in Beijing, winning a bronze medal in the 1,000-meter
44 event, and
45 WHEREAS, Joey Mantia started skating on roller blades at
46 the local indoor skating rink and first learned about speed
47 skating by watching inline skating practice at the rink, going
48 on to win a string of inline racing world championships and set
49 numerous world records, and
50 WHEREAS, Joey Mantia switched to racing on the ice in 2010
51 and moved to Salt Lake City to train, and
52 WHEREAS, Joey Mantia represented Team USA at the 2014
53 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and at the 2018 Winter
54 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, before traveling with Team
55 USA to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and
56 WHEREAS, Joey Mantia won his first Olympic medal by
57 claiming the bronze in the men’s team pursuit in Beijing days
58 before narrowly missing out on a medal in the mass start event,
59 and
60 WHEREAS, Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe, and Joey Mantia
61 demonstrated outstanding athletic ability and sportsmanship in
62 the 2022 Winter Olympics and should be applauded as exemplary
63 Floridians, NOW, THEREFORE,
64
65 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
66
67 That Ocala athletes Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe, and Joey
68 Mantia are recognized for their achievements as world-class
69 athletes and role models.
70 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution, with
71 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Erin Jackson,
72 Brittany Bowe, and Joey Mantia as tangible tokens of the
73 sentiments of the Florida Senate.