Mia Manganello made history on the final day of speed skating in Milan Saturday, becoming the first U.S. skater, man or woman, to make a mass start podium on the Olympic level. The Dutch swept the men's and women's competitions.

Manganello, who plans to retire after the 2026 Games, entered the Olympics riding the high of a career-best season in which she earned her first individual World Cup gold and her first overall World Cup title — both in the mass start. 

Using the knowledge she collected during her days as a professional cycler, Manganello bided her time in Saturday's races semifinal and final, hanging in the middle of the pack and using the draft created by other skaters throughout much of the distance. As the final wound down, Manganello picked up speed, gaining enough of an edge to take bronze.

"My emotions can't handle it at the moment. I feel like I'm on cloud nine," Manganello said. "I had a lot of emotions in my victory lap out there, so I think right now I'm just floating."

In the final, Manganello benefitted heavily from the work of teammate Greta Myers. Often in the mass start, athletes work to control the speed of the pack, allowing the stronger teammate to conserve energy until the final three or four laps. Myers, who made her Olympic debut in Milan, did just that, riding at the front of the field through the first two-thirds of the race and keeping the speed low.

"When you have a teammate — and a strong teammate — that you can trust, anything's possible," Manganello said. "Today, Greta skated out of her mind. It was the best I've ever seen her race the mass start. She raced with confidence, she raced with determination and a goal."

Her 3rd-place finish marks the first time Manganello has made an individual podium on the Olympic level. In 2018, she aided in the United States' bronze-earning effort in the women's team pursuit. 

At 36 years and 117 days old, she also now stands as the oldest American to earn an Olympic speed skating medal.

The Netherlands' Marijke Groenewoud finished 1st, and Canadian Ivanie Blondin claimed silver.

Groenewoud is a three-time world champion in the distance, earning her most recent crown in 2025. She made the podium in four of five World Cup races this season (2 gold, 2 silver). 

Blondin, who aided in Canada's winning team pursuit effort Feb. 17, ended the World Cup season as the world's third-ranked skater in the event.

Jorrit Bergsma, who at age 40 became the oldest-ever Olympic speed skating medalist with 10,000m bronze Feb. 13, finished 1st in the men's event. 

Bergsma and Denmark's Viktor Hald Thorup jumped into the lead early, creating a sizable divide between them and the other 14 skaters by the first sprint lap. A few skaters attempted to bridge the gap, but their challenges proved unsuccessful. Even Thorup ceded to Bergsma by the end, allowing the Dutchman to coast through the final 100 meters and across the finish line.

Dutch teammate Stijn van de Bunt played a similar role to Myers' in the women's event, managing the speed of the rest of the field so Bergsma could expand his edge. Bergsma's win makes him the oldest speed skater to win Olympic gold.

"I had already won bronze [in the 10,000m], so my Olympic Games were already complete, but to be standing here with a gold medal as a 40-year-old guy is a privilege, even more so that I managed to do it in the mass start," Bergsma said. "I did not expect this at all."

Thorup ended with silver, and Italy's Andrea Giovannini, the reigning world champion in the event, rounded out the men's podium. 

American Jordan Stolz, who added the event to his program this season, finished 4th.

The other skaters in the race knew Stolz could likely beat them in the sprints. At times, they even attempted to force him into the lead in order to drain his energy. But Stolz never wavered from his own plan, traveling in the middle of the pack when he could and keeping the pace slow when he landed in front.

He relied on the other skaters to chase Bergsma and Thorup and use their energy as the laps ticked by, but when no one did, he began to hesitantly push toward the finish. He ended the race just off the podium pace, missing out on 3rd by 0.11 seconds.

"If I would have known that [the other skaters were] reluctant to chase ... I probably would have attacked a little bit more," Stolz said. "But if I would have done that, they would have just followed me, and it would've just cancelled out [my effort]."

Still, Stolz views his Olympic appearance as a success, he said. At just 21 years old, he now owns three Olympic medals: two gold (500m, 1000m) and one silver (1500m). He raced the shorter two sprints in Olympic record time.

"I've had some great races here. Some could've been better, but I think [this is] actually a good result," he said. "I'll continue to improve."