Jan was born and raised in Winkel, a small village in the region of Zürich, Switzerland. Living an active lifestyle, he enjoyed running in the forest behind the house and swimming on the local squad, but his first passion was basketball. This is where he met Nicola Spirig, the 2012 London Olympics triathlon champion, who played on the same basketball team and attended the same school. Riding Nicola's bike, Jan won the silver at his first ever triathlon, the 1997 Swiss Scholars Championships, at the age of 11. From that point on, his passion for triathlon never stopped growing. 

With a 14th place World Cup debut in 2008, Jan showed some talent in short course racing. He had a promising start towards qualifying for the London Olympics, but barely missed out at the last moment. This was when Jan decided to give long course racing a try. Having never even completed a half Ironman or ran a marathon, he raced Ironman Zürich. Leading until 140km on the bike and then finishing second was the highlight of his career so far and a revelation of his true talent. In his first half Ironman ever, Jan took the win in front of a former World Champion. 

Jan has just started his career again. Where does he see himself in the future? "I want to be in the fight for the win at the Ironman Hawaii one day. It will take a lot of work and time to reach that goal."