Timothy Goebel

Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple salchow jump in competition[1] and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006.[2]

Timothy Goebel
Goebel competes at the 2001 Grand Prix Final in Kitchener, Ontario.
Full nameTimothy Richard Goebel
Born (1980-09-10) September 10, 1980 (age 43)
Evanston, Illinois
HometownFairfax, Virginia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Figure skating career
Country United States
DisciplineMen's singles
RetiredApril 25, 2006
EventGold medal – first placeSilver medal – second placeBronze medal – third place
Olympic Games001
World Championships020
Grand Prix Final002
U.S. Championships141
World Junior Championships010
Junior Grand Prix Final100
Medal list
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2002 Salt Lake CitySingles
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2002 NaganoSingles
Silver medal – second place2003 Washington, D.C.Singles
Grand Prix Final
Bronze medal – third place1999–2000 LyonSingles
Bronze medal – third place2001–02 KitchenerSingles
U.S. Championships
Gold medal – first place2001 BostonSingles
Silver medal – second place2000 ClevelandSingles
Silver medal – second place2002 Los AngelesSingles
Silver medal – second place2003 DallasSingles
Silver medal – second place2005 PortlandSingles
Bronze medal – third place1999 Salt Lake CitySingles
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place1997 SeoulSingles
Junior Grand Prix Final
Gold medal – first place1997–98 LausanneSingles

Personal life edit

Goebel was born on September 10, 1980, in Evanston, Illinois.[3] He was adopted through Catholic Charities by Ginny and Richard Goebel as an infant.[4][citation needed]

Goebel initially attended Loyola Marymount University. Beginning in the fall of 2006, he studied at Columbia University's School of General Studies,[5] graduating in May 2010 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.[6][citation needed] After working for the Nielsen ratings company, he joined an ad agency, MEC, as a consumer analyst.[7] As of April 2016, he was pursuing a master's degree in data science from New York University Stern School of Business.[8] In January 2017, he began working as a data analyst for Google.[9]

In April 2016, Goebel became engaged to his boyfriend of three years, Thomas Luciano.[8] They married on April 29, 2017, in Newport, Rhode Island.[9]

Career edit

Early in his career, Goebel was coached by Carol Heiss Jenkins and Glyn Watts near his Illinois home and then moved to California to work with Frank Carroll.[10]

During his skating career and prior to the arrival of Nathan Chen to the sport, Goebel was sometimes referred to as the "Quad King"[11][12] 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.[13] International Skating Union officials ratified the jump at the end of the month after watching a video provided by the parents of Tiffany Stiegler / Johnnie Stiegler.[1]

On October 31, 1999, at the 1999 Skate America in Colorado Springs, Goebel became the first skater to land three quads in one program. In the free skate, he landed a quad salchow in combination, a quad toe loop, and a quad salchow as a solo jump.[14]

Goebel also made history at the 2002 Olympics by becoming the first skater to successfully land a quad Salchow 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. He would land a total of 76 quads in competition.[2] 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 increasingly struggled with his jumps after 2003 due to injuries. At the 2006 U.S. 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.[15][16]

Goebel represented the Winterhurst Figure Skating Club. 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.[2] He planned 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 worked as a technical specialist at the Aviator Figure Skating Academy in New York.

He attended Columbia University, graduating in 2010 with a degree in mathematics.[17] In 2016, he received a Master of Science in Business Analytics degree from New York University Stern School of Business, and currently works for Google as a Marketing Mix Modeling Partner Program Manager.[18]

Programs edit

Goebel performs a hydroblade, one of his signature moves, in 2003.
SeasonShort programFree skatingExhibition
2005–2006
[3]
2004–2005
[19]
  • The Queen Symphony
    by Tolga Kashif,
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
2003–2004
[20]
2002–2003
[21]
  • Rapsodia Espanola, Tango Op. 65 N. 2
    by Espanola

  • Fantasticas
    by J. Turina
2001–2002
[22]

2000–2001
[23]

Second free at Grand Prix Final:



1999–2000

Competitive highlights edit

Competition placements at senior level [24]
Season1996–971997–981998–991999–20002000–012001–022002–032003–042004–052005–06
Winter Olympics3rd
World Championships12th11th4th2nd2nd10th
Four Continents Championships13th
Grand Prix Final3rd5th3rd
U.S. Championships6thWD3rd2nd1st2nd2ndWD2nd7th
GP Cup of China1st
GP France4th
GP NHK Trophy2nd2nd2nd
GP Skate America2nd1st1st6th
GP Sparkassen2nd2nd
Nebelhorn Trophy1st
St. Gervais2nd
Competition placements at junior level [24][25]
Season1994–951995–961996–971997–98
World Junior Championships14th7th2ndWD
Junior Grand Prix Final1st
U.S. Championships5th1st
JGP France1st
JGP Ukraine1st
Blue Swords4th2nd

Detailed results edit

ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System 
SegmentTypeScoreEvent
TotalTSS208.282004 NHK Trophy
Short programTSS73.652003 NHK Trophy
TES
PCS
Free skatingTSS137.602003 Cup of China
TES
PCS

Senior level edit

Results in the 1996–97 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Aug 23–28, 1996 1996 Grand Prix International St. Gervais2
Jan 13–21, 1996 1997 U.S. Championships1066
Results in the 1997–98 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Aug 26–29, 1997 1997 Nebelhorn Trophy111
Results in the 1998–99 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Feb 7–14, 1999 1999 U.S. Championships233
Feb 21–28, 1999 1999 Four Continents Championships121313
Mar 20–28, 1999 1999 World Championships131212
Results in the 1999–2000 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 27–31, 1999 1999 Skate America322
Dec 2–5, 1999 1999 NHK Trophy222
Jan 13–16, 2000 1999–2000 Grand Prix Final543
Feb 6–13, 2000 2000 U.S. Championships222
Mar 23 – Apr 3, 2000 2000 World Championships71011
Results in the 2000–01 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 26–29, 2000 2000 Skate America211
Nov 9–12, 2000 2000 Sparkassen Cup on Ice222
Feb 15–18, 2001 2000–01 Grand Prix Final555
Jan 14–21, 2001 2001 U.S. Championships311
Mar 17–25, 2001 2001 World Championships444
Results in the 2001–02 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 24–28, 2001 2001 Skate America111
Nov 9–11, 2001 2001 Sparkassen Cup on Ice222
Dec 13–16, 2001 2001–02 Grand Prix Final333
Jan 6–13, 2002 2002 U.S. Championships122
Feb 9–21, 2002 2002 Winter Olympics333
Mar 16–24, 2002 2002 World Championships422
Results in the 2002–03 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Jan 6–13, 2003 2003 U.S. Championships132
Mar 24–30, 2003 2003 World Championships222
Results in the 2003–04 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 6–9, 2003 2003 Cup of China211
Nov 27–30, 2003 2003 NHK Trophy122
Results in the 2004–05 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 4–7, 2004 2004 NHK Trophy222
Jan 9–16, 2005 2005 U.S. Championships122
Mar 14–20, 2005 2005 World Championships14910
Results in the 2005–06 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 20–23, 2005 2005 Skate America686
Nov 17–20, 2005 2005 Trophée Éric Bompard464
Jan 7–15, 2006 2006 U.S. Championships587

Junior level edit

Results in the 1994–95 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 21–27, 1994 1995 World Junior Championships171214
Jan 6–13, 1995 1995 U.S. Championships (Junior)655
Results in the 1995–96 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 26 – Dec 2, 1995 1996 World Junior Championships1267
Jan 13–21, 1996 1996 U.S. Championships (Junior)111
Results in the 1996–97 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 24 – Dec 1, 1996 1997 World Junior Championships522
Results in the 1997–98 season 
DateEventSPFSTotal
PScorePScorePScore
Aug 19–23, 1997 1997 JS Grand Prix de Saint Gervais1
Sep 25–28, 1997 1997 JS Ukrainian Souvenir1
Mar 5–8, 1998 1997–98 Junior Series Final411

References edit

External links edit