Jansen Doesn’t Have Steam Left in 1,000 : Speedskating: He finishes in a tie for 26th after going out faster than anyone in first 600 meters.

Poised to become one of the great American comeback stories in the Winter Olympics, speedskater Dan Jansen was disappointed again Tuesday.

In the 1,000 meters, a race in which he figured to be a medal contender, he faded badly on the final lap at the Olympic oval and finished in a tie for 26th place.

All three of his U.S. teammates in the race finished ahead of him, Nick Thometz 15th, Eric Flaim 16th and Dave Besteman 20th.

Jansen was not the only one among the favorites who failed to contend. The Unified Team’s Igor Zhelezovski, considered virtually unbeatable at the distance, finished sixth.

Olaf Zinke, an auto mechanic who was East Germany’s last sprint champion before reunification, won in 1 minute 14.85 seconds, .01 seconds ahead of silver medalist Kim Yoon Man of South Korea. Japan’s Yukinori Miyabe was third in 1:14.92.

With nine of 10 speedskating races completed, Germans, all from the east, have won five gold medals. In the five women’s events, the Germans were not expected to be as dominant as they were when competing for East Germany, but they won nine of 15 medals.

The only two gold medals that eluded the German women were in the 500 and 1,000, both won by the United States’ Bonnie Blair. With only the men’s 10,000 remaining, it appears as if those will be the only U.S. medals in speedskating.

“We have some gaps and holes to fill,” said U.S. Coach Peter Mueller, who had reasons to believe that his team could win six or seven medals here, including two by Jansen.

Jansen also was among the medal favorites in 1988 at Calgary, but he learned of his sister’s death of leukemia on the morning he was to skate in the 500 meters. While a sympathetic nation looked on, he chose to compete, but, unable to focus on the race, he fell. Four days later, in the 1,000, he fell again.

In the four years since, he has reaffirmed his status as one of the world’s best sprinters. But the Winter Olympics did not turn out like a Bud Greenspan film for him.

After finishing fourth in the 500 meters Saturday, Jansen was criticized for failing to attack the last third of the race. He was too cautious, perhaps fearing that he would fall on the final curve, and it might have cost him a medal.

Tuesday, he attacked, going out faster than any of the other skaters in the first 600 meters. But he was unable to maintain the pace and skated the final 400 meters almost three seconds slower than the winner, Zinke.

“Nothing happened,” said Jansen, 26, of Greenfield, Wis. “I just got tired. What’s the difference if I’m fifth or sixth or 20th? I was going for a medal today.

“Hey, things happen in the Olympic Games. You’ve got one shot. I’m fine. There’s nothing to be sad about.”

Flaim, who won a silver medal in the 1,500 and finished fourth in three other events at Calgary, did not have better than a sixth-place finish here. He expected to contend for a medal in the 1,500 and the 1,000, but he got food poisoning the night before Sunday’s 1,500 and still has not completely recovered. He announced that he would withdraw from the 1,000, but decided Tuesday to skate.

“I had snap at the start, but I didn’t seem to have any endurance,” he said.

Flaim, 24, said that he would retire after this season.

“I don’t want to just make the team,” he said. “I don’t come here just for the uniform.”

But Jansen said that he is looking forward to the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Norway.

“We already have a place to stay in Lillehammer,” said his wife, Robin.