Mia, oh Mia! 17-year-old speedskater Manganello has 'It'

World-class athletes are a rare breed.

Like the most celebrated of movie stars and politicians, they have the indefinable, innate "It" factor that people often talk about but do not recognize until they see it.

Besides having "It," though, to succeed a world-class athlete must have much more.

Only 17, long-track speedskater Mia Manganello already has the "It" factor in spades. More importantly, however, Manganello also has pure physical talent, which was on display when she won the Junior National Championships in Roseville, Minn., late last month, and a work ethic that is to be envied.

"Mia is the kind of athlete that a coach dreams of — she's talented and hard-working, which, believe it or not, is hard to come by," said Manganello's coach, Mike Kooreman. "Usually you will have an athlete full of talent but with a poor work ethic, or an athlete with no talent who has a great work ethic. Rarely do you come across an athlete with Mia's talent, dedication, and work ethic."

Manganello has always known her own mind. She plans her goals step by step and pursues them relentlessly. At 8 years old, while she was living with her parents in north Florida, she decided she wanted to be a champion inline skater.

They moved to South Florida so she could train, and while there she set inline records (for the freshman ladies 500m and 2000m — banked course and 2000m — road course) that are still standing. At age 12, she came to Utah for a speedskating camp, fell in love with the sport and her family made another move (giving up a burgeoning Italian restaurant) so she could train here.

"We were in it a hundred percent. No question that we definitely decided that that's what we needed to do. We have no regrets," said Manganello's mom, Karen Manganello.

There were other sacrifices made along the way, as well. Manganello has been home-schooled since making the move to Utah, and since she only trains with college-age men and women, it has been difficult for her to make friends her own age.

"She's doing it for herself. It's hard for her to make friends, so she's lonely. She'll try to make the friends, but there's always the competitive edge that makes it hard for them to get close to each other. Some skaters are only friends off the ice, and even that's very rare," her father, Dom Manganello, said.