Timothy Goebel

Timothy Goebel competes his long program at the 2001 Grand Prix Final in Kitchener, Ontario.
Personal Information
Full name:	Timothy Richard Goebel
Country represented:	United States
Date of birth:	September 10, 1980 (1980-09-10) (age 29)
Height:	170 cm
Former coach:	Donna Dickinson Audrey Weisiger Frank Carroll Carol Heiss Jenkins Glyn Watts
Former choreographer:	Lori Nichol Tatiana Tarasova
Skating club:	Winterhurst FSC
Retired:	April 25, 2006
ISU Personal Best Scores
Combined Total:	208.28 2004 NHK Trophy
Short Program:	73.65 2003 NHK Trophy
Free Skate:	137.60 2003 Cup of China

Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980 in Evanston, Illinois) is an American retired figure skater. Goebel was adopted through Catholic Charities by Ginny and Richard Goebel as an infant. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple salchow in competition and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006.

[edit] Biography

Goebel was known as the "Quad King"^[1][2] because of his ability to land quadruple jumps. On March 7, 1998, in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the Junior Grand Prix Final, Goebel became the first skater in the world to land a quadruple Salchow, and the first American skater to land a quadruple jump of any kind in competition. At Skate America in Colorado Springs on October 31, 1999, he became the first skater to land three quadruple jumps in one program. Goebel also made history at the 2002 Olympics by becoming the first skater to successfully land a quad salchow jump in combination in Olympic competition.

Goebel's repertoire of quadruple jumps made him one of the most competitive skaters in the world during the peak of his career. However, after 2003, Goebel began increasingly to struggle with his jumps due to injuries within the past year. At the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, in what he had previously announced would be his last competitive season, he was unable to land either a quadruple jump or triple axel cleanly, and dropped to a seventh-place finish which left him far short of qualifying for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Goebel was heavily criticized early in his career for focusing exclusively on jumping to the detriment of choreography and presentation, but in later years he improved in those areas.

Goebel represented the Winterhurst FSC. He was coached by Audrey Weisiger in Fairfax, Virginia, after having been previously coached by Carol Heiss Jenkins, Glyn Watts, and Frank Carroll.

On April 25, 2006, Goebel announced his retirement from competitive skating. On July 27, 2006, he announced that he will finish his undergraduate education at Columbia University beginning in the fall of 2006. He is currently majoring in mathematics in their School of General Studies. He previously attended Loyola Marymount University. He plans to continue to contribute to the sport as a technical specialist, having received certification for competitions sanctioned by the United States Figure Skating Association. He works as a technical specialist at the Aviator Figure Skating Academy in New York.

[edit] Programs

Goebel performs a hydroblading maneuver, one of his signature moves, in 2003.

[edit] Competitive highlights

[edit] Post-1999

[edit] Pre-1999

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

[edit] References

1. ^ USATODAY.com - Quadruple jump can throw you for a loop
2. ^ Radnofsky, Lousie. "New Heights." Skating Feb. 2007: 10-11.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Timothy Goebel

• Timothy Goebel at the United States Figure Skating Association
• Timothy Goebel at the International Skating Union
• US Olympic Committee Biography
• USFSA News: Goebel retires from competitive skating