Sport: Speedskating

Hometown: West Allis, WI

Biography:  Dan Jansen attended the University of Wisconsin. Dan was the first man to break 36 seconds in the 500m. He competed in three Olympiads before finally winning a medal in the 1994 Games. He earned 1,000-meters gold medal at 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer as well as the world record-holder in 500m and 1,000m. He was awarded the Amateur Athletic Union's 1994 James E. Sullivan Award, presented annually to the outstanding athlete in the United States who exhibits the qualities of leadership, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of amateurism. Dan worked as a speed skating commentator for NBC at the 2002 Games. He established the Dan Jansen Foundation, which contributes to youth sports programs, educational and scholarship awards and the research of leukemia - an illness that claimed the life of his sister, Jane. He also worked as a webcast commentator for WeMedia Inc. at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. A movie was made about his life, entitled 'A Brother's Promise: The Dan Jansen Story's Jansen now uses his story of ups and downs to motivate others. He even has advice for aspiring Olympic champions: "First and foremost, always have fun at what you're doing. You certainly have to work very hard to achieve that level, and if you're not having fun, you'll never enjoy the training part of it. It's a lot of hard work, and it's not always fun to train when it's 90 degrees in the summer time and you're running up a ski hill. So you've got to enjoy it."