Brian Hansen is a famous american speed skater. With us, he speaks of his sport, of his olympic career and of his athlete's Life.

28 Sept 2018

1.Who is Brian Hansen? 
I have spent the majority of my life training for speed skating, however I am also passionate about many other things. Lately, I have taken up lake surfing as one of my hobbies as well as trying to learn the ukulele.

2.How did you discover speed skating?
I played hockey when I was younger which is how I get involved with skating. A family friend recommended that we try speed skating just for the fun of it because their kids enjoyed it.

3.What made you fall in love with this sport?
I love skating in groups and drafting off other people. Even though this is not how we race most of the time, I enjoy practices where there is a lot of jockeying around and a racing type of atmosphere.

​4.What is the place of speed skating in the American sports landscape? 
Speed skating has had such a big history here in the United States. Although its popularity has kind of mellowed out over the past few decades it still remains a popular event in the Winter Olympics. 

5.Are you professional, does the federation help you, do you have sponsors?
I would consider myself semi-professional. The USOC (United States Olympic Committee) does help with funding however, it is still difficult to be financially independent as there are many training costs that come up throughout the year. 

© Olympics

6.Can you describe a typical week of training?
Most weeks throughout the year I workout 10 times per week, (twice a day for five days a week). A typical week of training varies from off season to in season. In the off season, I typically bike around 5 days a week, lift weights 2-3 days a week and do dryland 2 days a week. In season, I skate 5 days a week, lift weights 2 days per week and do dry land around 3 days per week.

7.You participated in 3 Olympiads, got a medal in 2010, what do you remember from these 3 Olympiads?
Winning the medal was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my Olympic experiences. I would also say the most memorable experiences is the excitement of walking into opening ceremonies, especially in my first Olympics. 
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© Thomas Di Nardo / © US Speed Skating

​8.What are your sports goals? 
My goal has always been to win a gold medal. Although I didn’t achieve this dream I now have new goals to coach and bring the sport to a new level in the United States. 

9.Despite your young age, do you have any personal or professional goals for your post-career? 
Yes, I have many professional and personal goals post-career. I would like be a successful entrepreneur in and out of the sport. I would like to come up with a better way to get more skaters involved in the sport and keep it fun and exciting in the U.S.
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© Brian Hansen

10.There are not many French on the circuit, (Alexis Contin,...), speed skating lacks of visibility in France. What would you say to French people so that they get more interested in speed skating?
I think what has really helped in the U.S. is having a large inline and short track following and having teams that they can switch to if they wanted to skate long track. I think just having the right community in place so that people feel comfortable switching from inline or short track to long track is important.

11.You took 2 years off after the 2014 Olympics to earn your bachelor's degree in business, why did you make that choice ?
I took 2 years off because I always wanted to go to college and get a degree. I thought that taking some time off from skating would be a good balance for me. I think it definitely helped with gaining a fresh perspective on skating but coming back from 2 years off was definitely more difficult than I expected.

By Hugo Bâcle

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