ALUMNI PROFILE
DAN JANSEN –LIFE AFTER ICE IS NICE By: Kelly Pugliano
“There is more to life than skating around in circles.” – Harry Jansen
Harry Jansen shared those words of wisdom with his son, who at 11 years old, was trying to compose himself through tears aer not winning a National Champi- onship. When Dan Jansen’s father shared that advice, he would have no idea of the life-long impact it would have. Those words worked their way into the fabric of Dan’s life and he would never forget them. Dan, set out to compete in the Olym-
pic Winter Games to win a gold medal. That journey was well on its way as Dan earned his spot on the 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1994 teams, yet the capture of that dream would elude him almost four times. Almost. Dan’s story probably became best
known during the 1988 Olympic Win- ter Games as he competed and was later honored with the US Olympic Spirit Award for competing through tragedy. Before setting to the ice for his 500meter event, Dan learned that his sister, Jane had lost her battle to cancer. He would fall in that race ending the quest for gold. Returning to the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games, his attempts were yet again met with falls in both the 500m and 1000m. Dan’s last chance came in Lillehammer during the 1994 Olympic Winter Games. Having false started in his 500meter, his hope for earning a medal would come to his final 1000meter event. The world watched with breath held as Dan, “DJ” to his friends and family, went for broke and not only earned the gold medal, but set a world record in the process. It is this triumph that made everyone cheer and keep this special athlete in their hearts as he skated a victory lap with his daughter, Jane named aer his beloved sister. In fact, Fox Sports has a list of the 10 Most
Memorable Winter Olympic Moments, in which 3 spots are held by speedskaters! Bonnie Blair holds spot 9, Eric Heiden spot 5 and Dan’s gold medal moment is ranked
10 RACING BLADE Winter 2012
www.usspeedskating.org
number 3 just behind Number 1-Miracle on Ice (USA Hockey) and number 2-Nancy Kerrigan & Tonya Harding (Figure Skating). That is quite an impact.
So how has DJ lived life in light of father Harry’s words since then? Aer the 1994 Olympic Winter Games,
Dan created the Dan Jansen Foundation in honor of his sister Jane, to help raise money and support those fighting can- cer. The Foundation is proud to still offer yearly scholarships to local Wisconsin high school seniors and helping families of cancer patients with costs associated with travel for treatments even though the only monies raised are now through private do- nations. It is still making a difference. Dan has also hit the road running, lit- erally. He has competed in 3 marathons
in NYC and Washington, DC, where he finished with his fastest time being just over 3 hours! He is not sure if he will do another, but has not completely ruled it out. He also owns and operates a suc- cessful distributorship for medical de- vices in Charlotte, NC and is involved in a nutritional company with fellow Olym- pians Bonnie Blair, Mike Eruzione, Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci. Even though Dan does not have a
chance to skate anymore “because there is no oval within 1,000 miles of where I live now,” he has not gone far from the ice sheet. Since retiring, he has been the voice sharing the excite- ment of speedskating for NBC and Uni- versal Sports, calling races for World Cup, World Cup Championships and The Olympic Winter Games. When asked what is different about
skating today versus when he was competing, Dan shared, “the sport has changed a lot since I skated. Clap skates changed everything about the sport tak- ing some of the work and finesse out of skating. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the best skaters are amazing athletes; strong and powerful.” What would DJ like to see with the
Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games? “I would like to see more depth, especially on the women’s side. This would be a great time for the American team to put several skaters consistently on the po- dium. Hopefully by 2014, it will be there.”
What is Dan’s advice for today’s speedskater? “Skate for the love of the sport, chal-
lenge yourself constantly to get better, to go faster. Be willing to hurt when it comes to training and take no short cuts. Work together when possible, listen to your body and learn from everything.” This is an exciting, yet short time in
a skater’s life and all should heed DJ’s advice while thinking of the future. He knows what he’s talking about because he knows there is more to life than just skating in circles. n
PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
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