Daniel Jansen biography

 Daniel Jansen biography

 Daniel Jansen, (born June 17, 1965, West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S.), American pace skater whose dominance within the dash races of his sport was overshadowed by his misfortune within the Olympic Winter Games.

Jansen grew up in a household of skating fanatics and competed in his first meets on the age of 4. At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina), he was the youngest skater within the competitors, but he managed a powerful fourth-place end within the 500-metre occasion. In 1986 he received the 500- and 1,000-metre World Cup titles. His victory on the world dash championships one week earlier than the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was the primary by an American since Eric Heiden in 1980. Several hours earlier than Jansen was to compete within the 500-metre skate, his sister, Jane, died of leukemia. Stunned by the information, he skated nonetheless and fell throughout the race. Days later, within the 1,000-metre occasion, Jansen tumbled once more.

Jansen continued skating and set a brand new world file within the 500-metre race in 1992. At the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France, nevertheless, he appeared to be haunted by his falls in Calgary, and he completed a disappointing 4th within the 500-metre race and twenty sixth within the 1,000-metre race. At the 1994 world dash championships he turned the primary particular person ever to skate the 500-metre occasion in lower than 36 seconds (35.76 sec). Yet misfortune struck once more on the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, when he slipped within the 500-metre skate. Jansen made what can be his final try at an Olympic medal within the 1,000-metre race, handing over a world-record-setting time of 1 min 12.43 sec and eventually incomes a gold medal. He retired from competitors after the 1994 Games, having received seven World Cup titles, two world dash championships, and one Olympic gold medal in his skating profession.