Jansen, Dan

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Dan Jansen

1965-

American speed skater

Dan Jansen was known as the world's best speed skater in the late 1980s and early 1990s, dominating the world in international competition. However, he is most known for what he didn't accomplish; he competed in three Olympiads before finally earning a gold medal in his final competition of the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

The Skating Jansens

Jansen was born June 17, 1965, the youngest of nine children of Harry, a policeman, and Geraldine (Grajek) Jansen, a part-time nurse. The Jansens of West Allis, Wisconsin were a clean-cut, athletic, religious and close-knit family who defied the limits of economics on two meager salaries. Harry Jansen often worked a second, part-time job. Dan Jansen and his siblings followed his oldest sister Mary onto the ice when she was bitten by the skating bug after watching the North American Skating Championships at a local rink.

West Allis "may the best place in the country" to develop as a speed skater, Jansen recalled in his autobiography, Full Circle. The West Allis Speed Skating Club was founded in the 1930s, and the town was site to one of the two official 400-meter ovals in the United States. In most parts of Wisconsin, where winters are long and frozen lakes are plentiful, hockey is virtually the state pastime. But in West Allis, kids who are inclined to skate generally forgo clunky hockey skates for the long blades of speed skates. Jansen's three brothers and three of his sisters skated competitively.

Jansen was in contention for the 1977 national championship when he was just eleven years old. He slipped on a lane marker, losing the championship by one point, and cried all the way home. "You know, Dan, there's more to life than skating in a circle," he recalled his dad saying in Full Circle. Wise as his father may have been, for much of Jansen's life skating was his focus. He played high school football until, at age sixteen, he decided to dedicate himself fully to skating. He competed overseas for the first time when he was in tenth grade, setting a junior world record in the 500-meter event. He

took ninth place overall in 1983. His success in the shorter-distance events encouraged Jansen to concentrate on his talent for sprinting.

Overcame Physical Setbacks

Jansen gave up a social life to train and compete, but maintained good grades. As his friends went off to college in 1983, Jansen was preparing for the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. He qualified to compete in the 500- and 1,000-meter races there and, at age 18, was the youngest competitor. Jansen finished fourth in the 500-meter event in 1984, just 16-hundreths of a second behind the bronze-medal winner, and placed 16th in the 1,000. He was unfazed to be coming home without a medal, setting his sights on the 1988 Games.

Jansen recovered from hamstring injuries in both of his legs to win the silver medal in the 500-meter at the 1985 world sprints. In 1986, he won a medal in every event he raced and became the first American to skate the 500 in under thirty-seven seconds. He finished first in both the 500 and 1,000 at the World Cup in Inzell, West Germany. Jansen was riding high when he stepped on a glass and cut his foot open in West Germany, severing one tendon and seriously damaging another. After six weeks in a cast, Jansen returned to training. He faced another setback when, exhausted, feverish, and sick, he performed horribly in all of his events at the final World Cup meet of 1987. He returned home be diagnosed with mononucleosis. Healthy again, Jansen returned to win the world sprint title that season, and to qualify for the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Canada.

No Good Time for Tragedy

Jane Jansen, Dan's older sister, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1987, which devastated the entire family. He had guilt feelings about continuing to train, travel, and compete while his sister was struggling for her life in the hospital, but Jane encouraged him keep it up. On February 14, 1988, the morning of his 500-meter race, Jane Jansen died, leaving behind three small daughters and an incredibly close family who loved her.

Geraldine Jansen encouraged her son to go ahead and skate his race. After an emotional day, Jansen recalls stepping onto the ice that night and feeling like he had not skated in six months. After a rare false start, Jansen skated poorly, much slower than usual. As he headed into a turn, he slipped and fell hard, taking Japan's Yasushi Kuroiwa down with him. All eyes were on Jansen that day, "But from that moment forward I was unofficially ordained Dan Jansen, The Guy Who Fell on the Day His Sister Died," he recalled wryly in Full Circle.

Hoping to be able to make something good come from the Games, Jansen dedicated his 1000-meter race to Jane. He got off the starting block confidently, and led the field for the first 600 meters, thinking to himself, "Do it for Jane." 200 meters short of the finish, he was down again. The Calgary Olympics had been a bust for Jansen, who now had to return home to bury his sister. He received more than seven thousand letters after the Games. Just three weeks after the Olympics, Jansen sprang back to win a World Cup 500-meter race in Savalen, Norway, and placed second in the 1,000. Afraid he couldn't maintain his stride until the next Olympics, Jansen took a few college courses. But in a turn, his skating actually improved in the four years between 1988 and the 1992 Games in Albertville, France.

Just as he had at Calgary, Jansen entered Albertville on a positive wave. Several weeks before the Games, he skated the best 500 of his life at the Olympic trials, and then beat his own time three weeks later at a World Cup meet in Davos, Switzerland. On the day of his first event, the 500, however, things took a turn. Warm temperatures and rain created poor ice conditions on the outdoor oval and, though he stayed upright, turned in an uncompetitive time, placing fourth. Jansen admits that he was unprepared, mentally or physically, to perform in the 1,000 three days later. He tired badly and finished in 26th place. His critics called him an Olympic choker. The fact that his next shot at an Olympics was only two years away was a small consolation.

Gold, Finally

By the time he arrived in Lillehammer, Norway for the Olympic Games, Jansen had won seven overall World Cup titles and set seven world records. He opted out of the opening ceremonies to prepare for his first event, the 500-meter race, set to take place just two days later. Jansen was remaining calm and quiet before the Games, leaving his expectations at a minimum. As he humbly pointed out in his autobiography, after missing the bronze in 1984 by 16-hundreths of a second, tragedy in 1988, and suffering slow ice and burnout in 1992, "The only thing left was for the Zamboni to run over me on the last turn, and we just didn't think that would happen."

Jansen was paired against Canadian Sean Ireland in the 500. After a false start by Ireland, Jansen was not skating his quickest, but was in the lead. Heading into the last turn, however, he slipped and his hand touched the ice, costing him valuable time. His parents, three eldest siblings, and wife and daughter were watching from the stands, and their hearts broke to see Jansen miss his chance yet again. His family did not weep for the missed medal, as the media misconstrued, but for Jansen and his run of Olympic disappointments. Jansen felt the "sadness of realization," he recalled in Full Circle. "I'm probably the best ever, but I am not going to win an Olympic medal in the 500 meters."

Chronology

1965	Born June 17 in West Allis, Wisconsin
1972	Chooses speed skating over hockey, begins training with Dianne Holum
1975	Makes his first Junior World Championship team
1976	Wins 1,500-meter event at Junior World Championship
1976	Competes in his first Senior World Championship
1977	Becomes first American to win World Championship
1980	Becomes first to sweep Junior World, World, and World Spring championships
1984	Sweeps Junior World, World, and World Spring championships
1984	Competes in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia Olympics
1988	Competes in Calgary, Canada Olympics
1992	Competes in Albertville, France Olympics
1994	Wins Olympic gold medal in Lillehammer, Norway

Awards and Accomplishments

1985	Third place, world championships
1986	Second place, world championships
1988	First place, world championships
1992	Second place, world championships
1994	First place, world championships
1994	Gold medal, 1,000-meter race, Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway

With one chance left to win an Olympic medal, Jansen set about practicing furiously for the 1,000-meter race, and psyching himself up to win it. He recalls feeling "off" the day of the 1,000, but knew he was ready when it was time to skate. He settled into a steady rhythm right away, and repeated in his mind, "I love the 1,000 … I love the 1,000." He seemed to be in control of the race when, 300 meters from the finish, he slipped and put his left hand down toward the ice. Despite his Olympic history, Jansen is not a skater who falls often, but the crowd collectively gasped when it happened, likely thinking "Oh no, not again!" He regained his form, and pushed toward the finish, and the crowd saw his world-record time, 1:12.43, before he did. He carried his baby daughter Jane with him around the rink on his victory lap.

Jansen was chosen to carry the American flag in the closing ceremony of the Lillehammer Games. After a whirlwind three weeks, he headed to Heerenveen, the Netherlands, to skate the season's final World Cup meet. Though he was unprepared for the event, he took second in the 500 and first in the 1,000, seizing the overall World Cup championship. After a decade of ups and downs at the top of his sport, Jansen retired.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Dan Jansen, Dan Jansen Foundation, 1832 Alta Vista Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53213.

Where Is He Now?

After his retirement from skating, Jansen became a motivational speaker. He founded the Dan Jansen Foundation, which contributes to youth sports programs and leukemia research. A made-for-TV movie about his life, called A Brother's Promise: The Dan Jansen Story, aired in 1996. He has also worked as an Olympic commentator for CBS television and became involved with the Paralympics, the Olympics of the mentally and physically challenged. He has two daughters and lives in Mooresville, South Carolina with his second wife, Karen Palacios, a golfer.