Q&A with Team Citi Member Dan Jansen: The Embodiment of the Olympic Spirit
January 31, 2014 09:45 AM
Join us as we profile nine Team Citi athletes on the Citi Blog as part of our Every Step of the Way program.
Next up - Dan Jansen, retired speed skater, best known for winning a gold medal for Team USA in world-record time in the 1994 Olympic Winter Games Lillehammer. Dan has chosen to support the Olympians for Olympians Relief Fund, which gives U.S. Olympians monetary assistance during times of crisis like an illness, injury or natural disaster.
Q: You lost your sister Jane just before your first race at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. What was your relationship like with Jane?
A: Jane was a huge influence on me as I was growing up. She was the one who made me believe that I could do whatever I wanted, whether it was being a professional baseball player or a world champion skater. She believed in me, which made me believe in myself.
Q: Can you reflect on the moment when you learned that Jane had passed?
A: Looking back, 1988 was one of the toughest, if not the toughest time of my life. Jane had been fighting for her health for a year. It was tough trying to keep my focus and train for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Calgary.
Then the morning of my 500 meters race, I got the call that she wouldn't make it through the day and she passed away. I had been somewhat prepared for this moment, but I'm not even sure how to describe it other than there was no mental or physical preparation. I didn't even know if I should go out and skate, but I knew that if I didn't, she would have felt terrible. And so I decided to give it a shot.
It obviously didn't work out; I fell on the very first turn. My mind was in one place and the body was in another, but I wouldn't have done it any differently even if I could.
Q: How did you manage to persevere and push forward to your next victories?
A: A couple things gave me the power and the will to continue. First, the support system I had from my family. Second, it helped knowing that my family went through it together, but it just happened to be me on the world stage at the time. They were able to help me refocus and assured me that they would be by my side whether I choose to continue to skate or not.
Q: You are the embodiment of the Olympic Spirit. How exciting is it for you to stay connected to the Olympic Movement and Team USA as an ambassador for Citi and a commentator for NBC?
A: Sochi will be my fifth Olympic Games as a commentator, and it's great. It keeps me close to the sport, and I get back in the feeling of the excitement of the Games. And now with Citi's Every Step of the Way program, I'm glad to have another way to not only be involved, but be able to provide support. Olympians for Olympians Relief Fund is a terrific organization, which helps athletes who have come across hard times. People don't realize that the USA is one of a few countries where the Olympic Team isn't funded by the government. And so when Olympians run across times of crisis like an illness, injury or natural disaster, the fund is available to provide monetary assistance.
Learn more about how you can support Dan and the Olympians for Olympians Relief Fund.