As the blades of his skates cut into the ice during the final lap of his Olympic speed skating career, Milwaukee native Dan Jansen hadn’t just come full circle on the track. He had also fulfilled a promise made nearly a decade earlier: he would win Olympic gold.
READ ALSO: Olympic legend Dan Jansen reflects on heartbreak, triumph and the future of speed skating
Jansen is best known for his iconic victory at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. In the years since, the former U.S. Olympic speed skater has continued to leave a lasting impact on his community and the sporting world.
Jansen’s Olympic debut came at the 1984 Sarajevo Games, where, at 18, he placed fourth in the 500 meters.
“I was just happy to be there,” Jansen said. “My only goal was to make the team, and I did that. Then I got there and it was all a bonus.”
Watch: Olympic legend Dan Jansen reflects on heartbreak, triumph and the future of speed skating
He was favored to win at the 1988 Calgary Games, but on the morning of the 500 meters, he learned that his 27-year-old sister, Jane, who was battling leukemia, was fading fast. Jane was one of Jansen’s biggest supporters, and through a brief phone call, she said she wanted him to stay and compete.
Three hours later, he learned that Jane had died. His mind wasn’t on Olympic ice that day. He said it was as if he wasn’t even there.
Though promising to win a medal for Jane at the 1988 and 1992 Games, Jansen came up short both times.
“That's the beauty, and it's also the toughest thing about the Olympics—that many, many times, the best don't always win. It's one shot every four years,” he said.
At the 1994 Lillehammer Games, after slipping and placing eighth in the 500 meters, Jansen had one more chance to prove to the world, and to himself, that he could succeed on the world’s biggest stage. In the 1,000 meters, which historically hadn’t been his best event, he skated a world record 1:12.43 time. Jansen finally won gold.
When it came time for his victory lap, he started down the track, waving to a roaring audience.
A security guard handed Jansen his baby girl, Jane, named after his sister, over the railing and they made the lap together.
“I went and got her, and it turned into one of the more iconic moments of the Games and certainly my best memory,” Jansen said.
Jansen had previously confided to a friend that he wasn’t sure what his post-Olympic plans would be, but that he wanted to carry on his sister’s legacy in some fashion.
The Dan Jansen Foundation was established in 1994 and initially donated to cancer research only. Jansen later shifted the foundation’s focus, finding institutional giving too distant and wanting to support families directly.
He began to wonder: “When Jane was sick, what did my family need?”
His sister required bone marrow transplants in Seattle, but the family of 11 lived in Wisconsin. The non-medical expenses from travel quickly added up.
“Those are the things that insurance doesn't cover,” Jansen said. “So I thought, let's start directing our funds towards something like that.”
The Jane Jansen Beres Family Aid Fund, despite being a small organization, has since helped more than 1,200 families with room and board, the cost of gas and airplane tickets.
“I've been able to see where our money goes and it's tangible,” he said. “I get thank you letters from people about how much it's meant to them. If you're our size, we're not going to cure it, but we can certainly help the people that are affected.”
The DJF raises most of its money through its annual Dan Jansen Celebrity Classic golf tournament. Since 2015, the tournament has welcomed Olympic legends and celebrity personalities for a three-day event of competition, auctions, concerts and parties.
Two years ago, his niece spoke at the event. She had lost her mother, Jansen’s sister, at an early age. She also lost her stepmother to brain cancer.
“She lost two moms—all three of my nieces did,” he said. “Although heartbreaking, it was one of my favorite memories of all the years, seeing her as a grown woman get up there and tell her story.”
While the DJF benefits bone marrow registry drives, cystic fibrosis and other medical organizations, the foundation also supports World Team Sports, Kids on Ice at the Pettit National Ice Center and U.S. Speedskating.
Jansen has been to every Winter Games since his victory, excluding Beijing 2022, which occurred shortly after COVID-19. He talks with the speed skaters, offering training advice—both physical and mental—while also supporting them from the stands
“There’s a young star by the name of Jordan Stolz who is going to be the name of the Games this year,” Jansen said.
The 21-year-old is from Jansen’s home state of Wisconsin. In addition to cheering on the phenom, Jansen will also support the speed skater financially through the DJF.
“He’s the best I’ve ever seen,” Jansen said.
Though his days on the Olympic track are over, Jansen remains as much a part of the speed skating community as ever, ensuring his legacy lives on.
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