Daniel J. Weinstein '03-'04: U.S. Olympian Speed-Skater

Daniel J. Weinstein ’03-’04 skated his way into college.

Before arriving at his Holworthy dorm room, Weinistein was a U.S. national speed-skating champion who competed in the short track speed skating portion of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

By the end of his senior year, Weinstein had competed in the Olympics for the second time, this time in Salt Lake City, Utah.

At age 16, Weinstein was the youngest skater to place in the Olympics. When he returned to the Olympics in 2002, he placed fourth in the short track speed-skating competition.

“It was cool having tens of thousands of people cheering for me,” Weinstein said of the experience.

Raised in Brookline, Mass., Weinstein remembers being “star-struck” by talented Olympians as well as Wayne Gretzky, a former National Hockey League player, whom he saw sitting at a table near him.

Although he moved to Colorado his junior year of high school to train exclusively for the Olympics, Weinstein said he soon realized that he was not skating to his high standards, which he said was one of the reasons he chose to attend Harvard.

According to a March 2, 2000 Crimson article, Weinstein maintained a rigorous workout schedule while in college—waking up at 5:30 a.m. twice a week to go to Walpole, Mass. for skating practice and weight-training every day.

Despite this demanding schedule, Weinstein said that, “Harvard “allowed me to not make skating my life.”

Eliot R. Hamlisch ’04 remembers his college friend as a “very social guy at school [who] also stayed in close touch with friends, family and skating teammates.”

Howard Georgi ’68, Leverett House Master and physics professor, described the former Leverett resident as an “overwhelmingly nice guy” who did well in school and was modest about his Olympian status.

“Probably many students didn’t even know that he was an Olympian,” Georgi said.

Although Weinstein retired from speed-skating in 2002, he said he continues to watch the Olympics.

“I love watching it,” said Weinstein, adding, “speed skaters are bringing in most of the medals.”

After graduating from Harvard in 2004 with a degree in psychology, Weinstein received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

He is now a senior consultant at Vermont-based Resource Systems Group, a market research and consulting firm.