Dan Jansen
| Olympic medalist | ||
.JPG) Dan Jansen |
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| Medal record | ||
| Men's speed skating | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for the  United States |
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| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1994 Lillehammer | 1,000 m |
Daniel ("Dan") Erwin Jansen (born June 17, 1965) is a former speed skater, best known for winning a gold medal in his final Olympic race after suffering through years of heartbreak. He graduated from West Allis Central High School.
Inspired by his sister Jane, Dan Jansen took up speedskating while growing up in Wisconsin. He set a junior world record in the 500 meter race at age sixteen, and finished sixteenth in the 1,000 meters and fourth in the 500 meters at the 1984 Winter Olympics.
At the 1988 Winter Olympics, Jansen – having become World Sprint Champion one week earlier – was a favorite for the 500 and 1,000 meter races, having improved in the years between Olympics, while overcoming a case of mononucleosis in 1987. However, in the early hours of the day of the race, he was informed that Jane was dying of leukemia. He spoke to his sister, who could not respond. Later that morning, he was informed that she died. He competed that night in the 500 meters, but fell early in the race. A few days later in the 1,000 meter race, he began with record-breaking speed but fell again. He left the 1988 Olympics with no medals, but became the recipient of the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award for his valiant efforts through tragedy.
Jansen arrived at the 1992 Winter Olympics as a favorite yet again. A year before, he had set a world record in the 500 meters. But disaster struck again, as he finished fourth in the 500 meters and twenty-sixth in the 1,000 meters. Jansen left the Olympic Games again with no medals.
In 1994 Jansen won his second World Sprint Championships title, and he arrived at the 1994 Winter Olympics for one final attempt at an Olympic medal. Between the 1992 and 1994 Olympics, he was the only man to break 36 seconds in the 500 meters, doing so four times in those years. Yet in the Olympic 500 meter race, he finished eighth – and he went into the 1,000 meters assuming he would end his career without an Olympic medal. However, coached by the 1976 Olympic Champion at that same distance, Peter Mueller, he won the race to capture his first and only Olympic medal of his career, setting a new world record in the process. He dedicated the gold medal to his late sister, then took one final victory lap around the rink with his one-year-old daughter, Jane. For his efforts, Jansen received the 1994 James E. Sullivan Award and was chosen by his fellow Olympians to bear the U.S. flag at the closing ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympics. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. [1]
Jansen was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004. Today, Jansen is a speed skating commentator for NBC and from 2005-2007 he was the skating coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. He appeared in a commercial for Visa, directed by Emmy nominee Brent Roske, during the 2010 Vancouver Games. During those games, Jansen shared his experiences from his sister's death during the Calgary Olympics with figure skater Joannie Rochette, sending her an e-mail after hearing that her mother suffered a fatal heart attack.[2]
He has also set up the Dan Jansen Foundation in memory of his sister, with the purpose of fighting leukemia. He is also a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation where he is an honorary board member.[3] .
[edit] World records
Over the course of his career, Jansen skated 8 world records:
| Distance | Result | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 36.41 | 25 January 1992 | Davos |
| 500 m | 36.41 | 19 March 1993 | Calgary |
| 500 m | 36.02 | 20 March 1993 | Calgary |
| Sprint combination | 145.580 | 20 March 1993 | Calgary |
| 500 m | 35.92 | 4 December 1993 | Hamar |
| 500 m | 35.76 | 30 January 1994 | Calgary |
| Sprint combination | 144.815 | 30 January 1994 | Calgary |
| 1,000 m | 1:12.43 | 18 February 1994 | Hamar |
[edit] Personal records
| Distance | Result | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 35.76 | 30 January 1994 | Calgary |
| 1,000 m | 1:12.43 | 18 February 1994 | Hamar |
| 1,500 m | 1:55.62 | 14 March 1993 | Heerenveen |
| 3,000 m | 4:25.63 | 5 March 1983 | Sarajevo |
| 5,000 m | 7:50.22 | 7 February 1982 | Inzell |
[edit] References
- ^ Kannada Anubhava. R.V. College of Engineering, Bangalore. 2010. pp. 87–88.
- ^ Branswell, Helen (February 24, 2010). "Former speedskating sprinter Dan Jansen understands Rochette's grief". Canadian Press.
- ^ "MMRF Honorary Board". http://www.multiplemyeloma.org/foundation/1.05.php.
- Dan Jansen at SkateResults.com
- Personal records from The Skatebase
- Biography from ESPN Classic
- The Dan Jansen Foundation
- Dan Jansens official website
- Dan Jansen's U.S. Olympic Team bio
- Dan Jansen Skates into Second Season as Chicago Skating Coach at NHL.com. 28 Sept 2006.
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- 1965 births
- Living people
- American people of Dutch descent
- American speed skaters
- James E. Sullivan Award recipients
- Olympic speed skaters of the United States
- Speed skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Former world record holders in speed skating
- People from West Allis, Wisconsin
- Olympic medalists in speed skating
