Ceremony to honor hometown Olympian

CRESTVIEW — Mia Manganello Day is set for later this month.

The city will honor Mia Manganello with a ceremony April 24 at 10 am at Warrior’s Hall in Crestview.

Manganello, a former Crestview resident, won a bronze medal in the team pursuit speed skating event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongchang. It was the first speed skating medal in 16 years for the U.S. women’s team.

The ceremony will include presentations from Okaloosa County and Walker Elementary School. Manganello attended Walker as a child growing up in Crestview. She will also receive a key to the city. The ceremony is open to the public.

“Local school friends of Mia remember being amazed at her speed at the roller rink before she discovered speed skating,” an email from Mayor David Cadle read.

Mia’s Italian Restaurant in Crestview, named after Manganello, was originally owned by her parents, Dominic and Karen Manganello. They sold the restaurant after 13 years and moved to Ocala to further Mia’s training. They are now back in the area and have opened a new restaurant in Valparaiso.

After missing out on qualifying for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Manganello took up professional cycling before returning to speed skating in 2016. She then qualified for the 2018 games at Olympic trials in January.

She placed 22nd in the individual 1,500-meter event, falling short of the medal stand. Nine days later, she was holding an Olympic medal after placing third in the Team Pursuit, edging out the Canadian team by less than half a second.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Ceremony to honor hometown Olympian