GREAT ICONS

Dan Jansen

Most speed-skating victories come down to 1/100th of a second. This one took over a decade.
Of all the Olympic stories that teach us about perseverance, very few are as memorable as that of Dan Jansen.

The world first met Jansen at the '84 Games in Sarajevo, when the relatively unknown American placed an impressive 4th in the 500-metre race.

By Calgary in '88, he was favored to win the 500- and 1,000-metre races.
But fate had other plans.

Jansen's sister had been suffering from leukæmia and died just minutes before race time. In his final conversation with her, he promised to win in her honour. But instead Jansen fell. Not just once, but in both races. He left Calgary empty-handed.

Four years later Jansen was again favoured to win, this time in Albertville. But after a disappointing performance, he again left without a medal.

In 1994, Jansen prepared for his fourth Olympic Games, in Lillehammer. He knew it would be his last chance and hoped he could put his past behind him once and for all. But on his first race, to the horror of everyone watching, Jansen slipped yet again during the 500 and finished 8th.
Only one race remained. The last of his career.

Four days after that unfortunate fall, the starting gun sounded for the start of the 1,000. And everything magically fell into place. A decade of disappointment suddenly was erased as Jansen took first place and set a new world record.

During the victory lap, he picked up his daughter and carried her around the ice.

They had named her Jane, in honour of his late sister. The perfect ending to a story that has become an inspiration to athletes around the world.








Johann Koss

After Olympic fame, four gold medals and three world records, Johann finally found something he was really good.

When Olympic Aid first sent Johann Olav Koss to Eritrea in the fall of 1993, he didn't like what he saw. In the little country that had just been liberated from Ethiopia, children weren't able to be children. They tried to play, but blown-out war tanks got in their way. When they found a patch of dirt, they played soccer with nothing more than a rolled-up long sleeve shirt.

Johann wanted to help, and with the Olympic Games quickly approaching, he devised a plan. A plan that would use any time he might have in the spotlight to publicize the plight of the children, and Olympic Aid's mission to help them.

Johann had two things going for him. The Olympics were going to be in his home country of Norway, and it just so happened that Johann could skate really, really fast.

A few months later, stunned spectators watched as he did more than just win the 1,500- , 5,000- and 10,000-metre races. He set world records in all of them. Then the cameras began to swarm. The interviews began to happen. And Johann began to talk.
A little about himself, a lot about the children.

Olympic Aid went on to raise over 18 million US dollars, and Johann was ready to return to Eritrea. When he got there, he found the same group of kids he had met on his first visit and gave them a brand new soccer ball. Upon seeing their smiles, Johann realized he had a new career.

To this day, Johann and other Olympic athletes travel the world for Olympic Aid, raising money and helping children. Johann hasn't changed much. When asked about his Olympic endeavours, he soon changes the subject back to the children and his next mission. He knows the job won't be finished until everyone believes in Olympic Aid's motto: "Every child has the right to play."



Derek Redmond - a weak leg, a strong father

Barcelona, 1992

This was to be his moment. Though he had been plagued by injuries throughout his career, on the evening of August the third, 1992, Derek Redmond had never felt stronger.

He broke quickly in lane five, quickly making up the stagger on the runners in lanes six through eight. Then Redmond felt something pop in his right leg. He had torn his hamstring. As the other runners finished the race, all eyes turned to him, helpless and motionless on the track.

Suddenly, a man appeared next to the injured runner, who, in spite of his injury, was determined to complete the race. Redmond's father had been watching in disbelief from the grandstand. Now, he provided a much-needed shoulder as his son hobbled in agony toward the finish line.





Shun Fujimoto - a pioneer in taking one for the team

Montreal, 1976

After severely breaking his knee during the floor exercise, Japan's Shun Fujimoto ignored his injury as long as possible, knowing such news could shatter the confidence of his teammates.
The injured gymnast continued on to the pommel horse routine, miraculously scoring a 9.5 out of 10. He then faced the rings, which would be his final event of the day. Shun performed extraordinarily, ignoring the inevitable consequences of dismounting from eight feet off the ground. Upon completion of his routine, he hurled himself into a beautifully executed triple-somersault dismount.

When his feet hit the floor, the pain sliced through him like a knife, but he kept his balance. Gritting his teeth, he raised his arms in a perfect finish before collapsing in agony. He was awarded a 9.7, the highest score he had ever recorded on the rings.

After winning the closest gymnastics team competition in Olympic history, Shun joined his team at the podium to receive his gold medal, and he did it without assistance.



Kofi Annan

Brief Moment

The greatest Olympic moment happens before the start of any competition, when no nation is greater or stronger than any other. This message is appropriately delivered by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, who has worked tirelessly towards creating a greater level of equality amongst all humankind.

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations -- Ghana

Kofi Annan of Ghana is the seventh Secretary General of the United Nations. The first Secretary General to be elected from the ranks of UN staff, he began his first term on 1 January 1997. On 29 June 2001, acting on a recommendation by the Security Council, the General Assembly appointed him by acclamation to a second term of office that will extend until 31 December 2006.

Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938. He studied at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi and completed his undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota (USA), in 1961. From 1961 to 1962, he undertook graduate studies in economics at the Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales in Geneva. As a 1971 - 1972 Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Annan received a Master of Science degree in management.

Annan joined the United Nations system in 1962 as an administrative and budget officer with the World Health Organisation in Geneva. Since then, he has served in many UN positions throughout the world. Before being appointed Secretary-General, Annan served as Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations and then as Under-Secretary General.

Annan's priorities as Secretary General have been to revitalise the UN through a comprehensive programme of reform; to strengthen the organisation's traditional work in the areas of development and the maintenance of international peace and security; to encourage and advocate human rights, the rule of law and the universal values of equality, tolerance and human dignity; and to restore public confidence in the UN by reaching out to new partners and, in his words, by "bringing the United Nations closer to the people".

On 10 December 2001, the Secretary General and the UN received the Nobel Peace Prize.




Nelson Mandela -- human rights leader

President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa, in 1918. The foster child of Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe, Mandela was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand, and qualified in law in 1942. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC), a black nationalist movement, and spent his life engaged in resistance against the ruling government's policy of apartheid, the legal separation of races.

After the South African government banned the ANC in 1960, Mandela argued for the creation of a military wing within the ANC, which led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government. On 12 June 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, Mandela was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, on the mainland, until 1990.

During his 27 years in prison, Mandela galvanised worldwide support for the fight against apartheid by becoming a symbol for equal rights and justice. After his release from prison in 1990, he played a pivotal role as ANC president in negotiating the end of apartheid.

In 1993 Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with South African President F.W. de Klerk. One year later, at the age of 75, he was elected president of South Africa. On 10 December 1996, Mandela signed the country's new constitution, which includes sweeping human rights and antidiscrimination guarantees.

Mandela stepped down as president in June 1999. He remains the most revered man in the country, credited with a remarkable transition from tyranny to democracy, and a commitment to reconciliation that saved the country from a violent struggle.