TUESDAY’S ATHLETE
Casey
FitzRandolph
Speedskating, U.S.
He leads after the first round of the two-round men’s 500-meter speedskating final. A win would continue a very fast start by the Americans after Derek Parra’s silver in the men’s 5,000. He finished sixth in the 500 in Nagano and was the world single-distance bronze medalist in 2001. He is also the American record-holder in the 500 meters and 1,000 meters.
TUESDAY’S TV
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Noon-5 p.m.
MSNBC: Cross-country skiing (women’s 10km), women’s curling (Japan vs. U.S.), women’s hockey (Germany vs. U.S.)
3 p.m.-4 p.m.
NBC: Cross-country skiing (men’s 15km classical)
5 p.m.-11 p.m.
CNBC: Curling (U.S. women vs. Sweden), men’s hockey (Austria vs. Slovakia, Germany vs. Latvia)
7 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
NBC: Figure skating (men’s short program), alpine skiing (women’s downhill final), freestyle skiing (men’s moguls final), luge (women’s singles), ski jumping (K120 individual), speedskating (men’s 500m)
11:05 p.m.-12:35 a.m.
NBC: Daily roundup
Midnight-6 a.m.
MSNBC: Taped coverage
12:35 a.m.-4 a.m.
NBC: Taped coverage
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Dan Jansen
Speedskating, U.S.
On Feb. 18, 1994, in Lillehammer, American Dan Jansen won a single Olympic gold medal in his eighth, and final, Olympic race, becoming a most beloved Olympic champion.
We all knew Jansen’s story on that February day at the raucous speedskating oval in Norway. We knew how Jansen, youngest of nine children, had been a surprising fourth as an unknown 18-year-old in the 500 meters at the 1984 Olympics; how his sister, Jane, his inspiration and mentor, had died of leukemia on the day of his 500-meter race at the 1988 Calgary Games and how Jansen had raced anyway, then slipped and fell, and how he had fallen again, four days later, in the 1,000.
We knew Jansen came to the 1992 Albertville Games as a favorite in the 500 but skated heavily in slushy ice and finished fourth. He tried so hard in the 1,000 that he pushed himself too hard early and faded to 26th at the finish.
He came to Lillehammer at his peak, a 28-year-old who had won all the most important 500-meter races of the year. But in the Olympic race, Jansen slipped again. He finished eighth.
But in the 1,000, Jansen didn’t really need the clock. The crowd told him the result–a world record–and Olympic gold.
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