# 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 and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006.

## Personal life

Goebel was born on September 10, 1980, in Evanston, Illinois. He was adopted through Catholic Charities by Ginny and Richard Goebel as an infant.
Goebel initially attended Loyola Marymount University. Beginning in the fall of 2006, he studied at Columbia University's School of General Studies, graduating in May 2010 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. After working for the Nielsen ratings company, he joined an ad agency, MEC, as a consumer analyst. As of April 2016, he was pursuing a master's degree in data science from New York University Stern School of Business. In January 2017, he began working as a data analyst for Google.
In April 2016, Goebel became engaged to his boyfriend of three years, Thomas Luciano. They married on April 29, 2017, in Newport, Rhode Island.

## Career

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.
During his skating career and prior to the arrival of Nathan Chen to the sport, Goebel was sometimes referred to as the "Quad King" 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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2005–2006 | Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman | Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky | Stray Cats Strut by Brian Setzer |
| 2004–2005 | Concerto Elegiaque for Piano in D Minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff | The Queen Symphony by Tolga Kashif, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | |
| 2003–2004 | Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev | The Queen Symphony by Tolga Kashif, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | |
| 2002–2003 | Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev | Rapsodia Espanola, Tango Op. 65 N. 2 by Espanola Fantasticas by J. Turina | |
| 2001–2002 | Danse macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns | An American in Paris by George Gershwin | American Pie by Don Mclean Freedom by Paul McCartney |
| 2000–2001 | 2001: A Space Odyssey Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss Slow Waltz | Henry V Canone inverso Second free at Grand Prix Final: 1812 Overture by Pyotr Tchaikovsky | Windmills of Your Mind by Neil Diamond American Pie by Don Mclean Cup of Life by Ricky Martin |
| 1999–2000 | Caravan by Duke Ellington | Seven Years in Tibet by John Williams | Ain't No Sunshine by David Sanborn, Sting |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* WD – Withdrew from competition
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 |
| Winter Olympics | | | | | | 3rd | | | | |
| World Championships | | | 12th | 11th | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | | 10th | |
| Four Continents Championships | | | 13th | | | | | | | |
| Grand Prix Final | | | | 3rd | 5th | 3rd | | | | |
| U.S. Championships | 6th | WD | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | WD | 2nd | 7th |
| GP Cup of China | | | | | | | | 1st | | |
| GP France | | | | | | | | | | 4th |
| GP NHK Trophy | | | | 2nd | | | | 2nd | 2nd | |
| GP Skate America | | | | 2nd | 1st | 1st | | | | 6th |
| GP Sparkassen | | | | | 2nd | 2nd | | | | |
| Nebelhorn Trophy | | 1st | | | | | | | | |
| St. Gervais | 2nd | | | | | | | | | |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 |
| World Junior Championships | 14th | 7th | 2nd | WD |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | | | | 1st |
| U.S. Championships | 5th | 1st | | |
| JGP France | | | | 1st |
| JGP Ukraine | | | | 1st |
| Blue Swords | 4th | | 2nd | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 208.28 | 2004 NHK Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 73.65 | 2003 NHK Trophy |
| Short program | TES | | |
| Short program | PCS | | |
| Free skating | TSS | 137.60 | 2003 Cup of China |
| Free skating | TES | | |
| Free skating | PCS | | |

### Senior level

Results in the 1996–97 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 23–28, 1996 | 1996 Grand Prix International St. Gervais | | – | | – | 2 | – |
| Jan 13–21, 1996 | 1997 U.S. Championships | 10 | – | 6 | – | 6 | – |
Results in the 1997–98 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 26–29, 1997 | 1997 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
Results in the 1998–99 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Feb 7–14, 1999 | 1999 U.S. Championships | 2 | – | 3 | – | 3 | – |
| Feb 21–28, 1999 | 1999 Four Continents Championships | 12 | – | 13 | – | 13 | – |
| Mar 20–28, 1999 | 1999 World Championships | 13 | – | 12 | – | 12 | – |
Results in the 1999–2000 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 27–31, 1999 | 1999 Skate America | 3 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Dec 2–5, 1999 | 1999 NHK Trophy | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Jan 13–16, 2000 | 1999–2000 Grand Prix Final | 5 | – | 4 | – | 3 | – |
| Feb 6–13, 2000 | 2000 U.S. Championships | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Mar 23 – Apr 3, 2000 | 2000 World Championships | 7 | – | 10 | – | 11 | – |
Results in the 2000–01 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 26–29, 2000 | 2000 Skate America | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Nov 9–12, 2000 | 2000 Sparkassen Cup on Ice | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Feb 15–18, 2001 | 2000–01 Grand Prix Final | 5 | – | 5 | – | 5 | – |
| Jan 14–21, 2001 | 2001 U.S. Championships | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Mar 17–25, 2001 | 2001 World Championships | 4 | – | 4 | – | 4 | – |
Results in the 2001–02 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 24–28, 2001 | 2001 Skate America | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Nov 9–11, 2001 | 2001 Sparkassen Cup on Ice | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Dec 13–16, 2001 | 2001–02 Grand Prix Final | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 | – |
| Jan 6–13, 2002 | 2002 U.S. Championships | 1 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Feb 9–21, 2002 | 2002 Winter Olympics | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 | – |
| Mar 16–24, 2002 | 2002 World Championships | 4 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
Results in the 2002–03 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Jan 6–13, 2003 | 2003 U.S. Championships | 1 | – | 3 | – | 2 | – |
| Mar 24–30, 2003 | 2003 World Championships | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
Results in the 2003–04 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 6–9, 2003 | 2003 Cup of China | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Nov 27–30, 2003 | 2003 NHK Trophy | 1 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
Results in the 2004–05 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 4–7, 2004 | 2004 NHK Trophy | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Jan 9–16, 2005 | 2005 U.S. Championships | 1 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| Mar 14–20, 2005 | 2005 World Championships | 14 | – | 9 | – | 10 | – |
Results in the 2005–06 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 20–23, 2005 | 2005 Skate America | 6 | – | 8 | – | 6 | – |
| Nov 17–20, 2005 | 2005 Trophée Éric Bompard | 4 | – | 6 | – | 4 | – |
| Jan 7–15, 2006 | 2006 U.S. Championships | 5 | – | 8 | – | 7 | – |

### Junior level

Results in the 1994–95 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 21–27, 1994 | 1995 World Junior Championships | 17 | – | 12 | – | 14 | – |
| Jan 6–13, 1995 | 1995 U.S. Championships (Junior) | 6 | – | 5 | – | 5 | – |
Results in the 1995–96 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 26 – Dec 2, 1995 | 1996 World Junior Championships | 12 | – | 6 | – | 7 | – |
| Jan 13–21, 1996 | 1996 U.S. Championships (Junior) | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
Results in the 1996–97 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 24 – Dec 1, 1996 | 1997 World Junior Championships | 5 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
Results in the 1997–98 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 19–23, 1997 | 1997 JS Grand Prix de Saint Gervais | | – | | – | 1 | – |
| Sep 25–28, 1997 | 1997 JS Ukrainian Souvenir | | – | | – | 1 | – |
| Mar 5–8, 1998 | 1997–98 Junior Series Final | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |