Will the third time be the charm for Joey Mantia?
After failing to make the podium in each of his first two Olympic appearances, the 36-year-old American speed skater has a strong chance to earn his first medal in the men's 1500m on Tuesday morning.
You can watch the event live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
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Mantia, who's first in the 1500m World Cup standings, finished 22nd in the event at the 2014 Sochi Games and eighth at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. In Beijing, he not only has the opportunity to end a personal drought but a Team USA one as well. The United States hasn't won an individual long track speed skating medal, men's or women's, since the 2010 Vancouver Games.
There will be at least one other American in the event who can help end that drought. Like Mantia, 25-year-old Emery Lehman is gunning for his first Olympic medal in his third appearance.
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Casey Dawson is in line to be the third and final American in the 1500m. The 21-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 about three weeks ago and wasn't cleared to begin traveling to Beijing until Sunday morning. He missed the 5000m event but arrived in the Olympic village on Monday night and plans to make his Olympic debut in the 1500m.
The Americans will face fierce competition, as two of the medal winners from the 2018 PyeongChang Games are back in reigning gold medalist Kjeld Nuis from the Netherlands and reigning bronze medalist Kim Min-seok of South Korea.
