Men’s Skating: Hansen picks up chase for skating World Cup

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Brian Hansen, of Glenview, won a silver medal in the 2010 Olympics. He hopes to be selected again for the 2014 games in Russia.

Updated: March 10, 2012 8:18AM

Selection to the U.S. Olympic Team is still a year away, but short-track speed skater Brian Hansen of Glenview is keeping an eye on the 2014 Winter Games.

“Yes, the Olympics in Russia are a little ways off. I’m just starting to change my mental approach,” said Hansen, a 2009 graduate of Glenbrook South.

“There’s plenty of time to get things together.”

That’s a good thing, too. Early last month, he rolled his ankle while running.

“I have a broken foot and I’m wearing a walking cast,” Hansen said last week from Milwaukee, where he attends Marquette and trains at the Pettit National Ice Center in nearby West Allis.

“I’m almost healed. It’s difficult when you miss four weeks of training. I’m kind of stiff and sore.”

On Sunday, he heads to Europe. He will travel to The Netherlands, Norway, Berlin and back to The Netherlands for the World Cup and World Championships.

He recently finished in the top eight during World Cup competition in the 1,000- (7th) and 1,500-meter (8th) races, respectively.

At just 21 years old, this is not Hansen’s first run at the U.S. Team. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, he won a silver medal in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Hansen broke into the elite level of speed skaters his senior year of high school.

“The main difference now is that it’s much more full-time for me these days, and I’m a lot more patient with my sport,” said Hansen, who in 2009 took third in the U.S. Allround Championships.

“I had it in my mind that there was not much beyond the 2010 Olympics. I trained really hard back then and still do, but I know there’s a longer road than I originally believed.

“I listen to myself and body now. I have a more sustainable lifestyle and approach to racing,” he said.

Nancy Swider-Peltz, Hansen’s coach, said she hoped — and expected — athletes to keep her well-informed of their physical and mental outlooks, especially during training and dealing with injuries.

For instance, in 2009 she helped Hansen work through a back injury that nearly required surgery.

“I’m not a controlling coach because I really listen to athletes and help them understand themselves better — what they can and can’t do.

“When I know how they feel, I can make educated decisions, according to an athlete’s goals and desires. I try to have mutual talks with them everyday. I develop relationships,” said Swider-Peltz, a four-time Olympian.

With Hansen’s injuries, she made it clear he could not do more than what was physically possible at the time.

“He had to start relaxing a bit so he wouldn’t get hyped and try to do a lot while being hurt,” said Swider-Peltz , a 1974 graduate of Maine South, who now lives in Wheaton.

Hansen trained at the Northbrook Speedskating Club and Oakton Ice Arena in Park Ridge, prior to being selected for the U.S. Olympic Team for 2010.

Scott Greenspan, who taught mathematics and coached Hansen in tennis at Glenbrook South, saw an exceptionally self-motivated teenager who needed to leave school for weeks at a time to compete around the world

“He would take a math book and the assignments with him to Japan, for instance. Come back with them all done, ask a few questions, take the test and get an A. This happened all the time,” Greenspan recalled.

“As a teacher, it was amazing to watch. Quietly, he’s a very intense and independent kid. He had a gold-medal mentality at 14 years old.”

Women’s skating

Team USA had a strong close to the Korean Air ISU World Cup Sunday in Moscow, adding three medals to bring the team’s 2011-12 World Cup total to 17.

Lana Gehring of Glenview, was part of the Team USA’s ladies 5,000-meter relay that took silver with a time of 4:14.127. Gehring also won bronze in close 1500m (2) A final with a time of 2:27.993.

“I was happy with my results today, winning a bronze in the 1500m and silver in the relay,” said Gehring. “I’m hoping to straighten up some of my mistakes next weekend and be able to compete even stronger at World Championships in Shanghai.”

Team USA now travels to Dordrecht, The Netherlands, for the sixth stop on the Korean Air ISU Short Track World Cup series. Racing begins in Dordrecht on Friday.