Olympic runner has many local ties

by Sally Jack
Contributing Writer
As the 2024 Summer Olympics swing into action in Paris, France, San Juan County residents will want to keep an eye on Conner Mantz.
Conner placed first at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida on February 3 and will represent the United States and Utah in the summer games.
It’s fun to “know someone who knows someone,” and it’s not every day that folks from this area know an Olympic runner. Although Conner is from Smithfield, UT, he has lots of family ties to San Juan County.
Conner’s father, Robert Mantz grew up in Blanding and is a graduate of San Juan High School. His grandfather, Paul Mantz taught school at Blanding Elementary for many years and now resides in Monticello. His Grandmother Lorraine also taught school in Blanding and lived in Monticello for a time in her later years.
Conner has two uncles who currently live in Monticello, Kit Mantz and Eric Mantz, and until just recently his aunt, Tina Mantz Murdock also lived in Monticello.
So when Conner begins the run for that Olympic gold medal, let’s cheer on “our” local boy!
Conner ran his first half-marathon at the age of twelve. In ninth grade he was an all-star athlete. He was an All-American in the Foot Locker cross country championships three times – as a sophomore, junior, and senior at Sky View High School.
He ran for BYU and is a two-time NCAA cross country champion (2020 and 2021). He placed in the top eight two different times in major marathons. He has competed professionally for Nike since 2021.
Achievements like these don’t come without a lot of time, training, and hard work, and most athletes experience their own set of challenges as well. Conner’s challenges included injury and time off from training.
He was still healing from a stress reaction in his femur when he crossed the finish line in first place at the Olympic marathon trials.
And there was some catch-up training to do after he took two years off from competitive running to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Ghana.
Current training under US Coach Ed Eyestone is intense and focused on preparing for the Olympics in August.
Conner’s wife Kylie and other family members watch him with awe and understandable pride. His Uncle Eric from Monticello relates, “Conner is fast.
“While we were visiting with family, Conner’s father Rob and I decided to follow him on a morning training run, which was 18 miles. We didn’t run. We hopped on our electric bikes and rode alongside him.
“After a while we made a quick stop to check something on our bikes. When we looked up a few moments later Conner was half a mile up the road ahead of us.
“Conner was running about twelve-and-a-half miles per hour so we had a hard time catching up to him. And after 18 miles, he didn’t even seem winded.”
Conner’s friend, training partner, and former BYU running teammate, Clayton Young, placed second in the Trials, finishing just one second behind Conner. He will also represent Utah and the United States at the Olympics this summer.