A BITTERSWEET OLYMPIC REMINISCENCE

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Do you remember when it seemed as if Dan Jansen would just never win an Olympic medal in speedskating?

It took him four Olympics and it came down to his very last race before he achieved victory.

Jansen first became an Olympian in 1984 and came in fourth in the 500 meters, only .16 seconds away from a bronze medal.

Then life dealt him a really cruel hand in 1988. He knew that his sister Jane was dying of leukemia, and the morning of the 500 meters, he learned Jane had died. He tried to compete in the 500 meters that night and fell. A few days later he raced in the 1,000 meters and started out with a world record time.

He fell.

1992: No medals.

1994: His final Olympics. No medal in the 500 but at long last, he won gold in the 1,000 and set a world record.

Whew! What a relief. He skated a victory lap holding his little girl, Jane, and when he received the gold medal, Jansen looked to the heavens and said, "This is for you Jane. I love you."

Some other great athletes were not so lucky. An Olympic gold medal always eluded figure skater Michelle Kwan, who won every other title on Earth. She had to settle for silver when little Tara Lipinsky suddenly shot to Olympic fame.

Sometimes gold isn't in the cards.

But I sure was relieved when Dan Jansen finally won.

Love,

Dumped First Wife

Unfortunately, after his win, Dan Jansen became an Olympian dumper, leaving his wife, Robin. They had two children. I sense a pattern here. I've noticed that a number of men achieve their career goals or recover from debilitating illnesses and then they are ready to leave their most loyal supporters, their wives, behind. Is the wife a reminder of the past? Is it too painful for some men to admit how much they owe their wives? Hmmmm. I'll have to think about this one some more.