For all you figure skating fans who surface every four years, Timothy Goebel all but disappeared with you. You remember Goebel, right? He was the young upstart who came out of nowhere in his first Olympics to fly past American veterans Todd Eldredge and Michael Weiss to win the bronze medal in Salt Lake City.
He was the future of men’s figure skating in this country, remember? In reality, that future became a cavalcade of turmoil that would have melted the ice under most skaters, burying them forever. Goebel had poorly fitted boots that caused numerous injuries, he bombed out of the 2004 U.S. Nationals, his coach dumped him and he traveled across the continent to a new mentor.
Oh, and did we mention the car accident?
Well, it’s an Olympic year again and the “Quad King” is back, claiming he’s good as new for one last Olympic run. And just in time. The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are this week in St. Louis, and Goebel is among four major contenders for three men’s Olympic spots, starting with Thursday’s short program.
“I still feel, even though I had a rough year,” Goebel said, “I have the stuff to earn another Olympic medal.”
So does his coach, Audrey Weisiger. She should know. She took him on a month before last January’s nationals and resurrected his confidence for a surprising third and a spot on the World team. He didn’t do well in Moscow, finishing 10th, but the potential remains.
After all, one year after the Olympics, he took second in the world to current gold medal favorite Evgeni Plushenko of Russia and remains the most decorated American skater in this week’s field.
“One or two bad episodes and everyone forgets,” Weisiger said.
Goebel, 25, would like to forget 2004. It started with his skates. They didn’t fit well, which is fine if you’re painting your bathroom but difficult when doing a quad. He developed injuries to his feet, legs, hips and back.
Then came one to his ego. At the 2004 Nationals in Atlanta, Goebel fell three times during the short program and withdrew.
“The soles of the boots were not level, so my balance was off,” Goebel said. “It’s like having a misaligned car. You can’t drive a race car that’s misaligned. It’s exactly the same concept.”
Only one problem: His coach in California didn’t believe him, he said. Frank Carroll, Goebel said, believed the problem was more in his head. That November, Carroll – who has coached Michelle Kwan and now coaches World bronze medalist Evan Lysacek – told Goebel he should find another coach.
It was two months before nationals. It wasn’t until after the breakup Goebel learned Carroll, who couldn’t be reached for comment, didn’t buy the equipment argument.
“If he had expressed that to me at any point, I would’ve been able to sit down and communicate that with him,” Goebel said.
Goebel found a new coach in Virginia. Weisiger had just gotten dropped by Weiss and agreed to take on Goebel. In the process of packing, moving, getting to know Weisiger and a new rink in suburban Washington, Goebel managed a second-place finish at the nationals in Portland, Ore.
“Being that she was coaching one of my main competitors for several years, we had very little interaction previously,” Goebel said. “So it was like, ‘Hi. I’m your coach. Let’s go to nationals.’ People just don’t do that.”
Goebel is finally settled, but his season hasn’t produced great results. He finished third at the Campbell’s Classic in St. Paul, Minn., on Oct. 8, sixth in the Skate America in Atlantic City, N.J., on Oct. 20 and fourth in the Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris on Nov. 18.
Goebel hurt his back in a fender bender in September, which hurt his training for three or four weeks. However, he is healthy in St. Louis and has hit everything in practice.
“He’s such a tough tiger, so when he was doubting himself this season, I was reminding him,” Weisiger said, “‘Even though you’re struggling, dig in there because there’s a tough tiger in there.”‘
Goebel is tough; he’s called Quad King for a reason. He nailed three quads, skating’s most difficult jump, in Salt Lake City in the performance of his life and is the first American jumper to land a quad.
With a new judging system based more on overall artistry than jumps, the quads won’t be as valued. However, Goebel isn’t changing. Sure, the high-reward quad also has the highest risk, but Goebel is a high-risk skater.
“No one has ever won anything important by playing it safe,” Goebel said.
Footnotes
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are well on their way to a third straight national title and an Olympic berth, jumping to a huge lead after the compulsory and original portions of Tuesday’s ice dancing competition. The pair, who just became eligible for the Olympics when the Canadian-born Belbin received her U.S. citizenship Dec. 31, totaled 107.60 points. In a distant second are Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov at 94.13. The free dance final is Friday. … Sasha Cohen, a major contender for the U.S. team and an Olympic medal contender, is recovering from the flu. She didn’t practice after a Friday session and didn’t skate again until a practice session Tuesday. The ladies’ short program begins Thursday. … Stephen Carriere of Wakefield, Mass., won Tuesday’s junior men’s U.S. championship with a score of 180.28. Cheyenne Mountain High School graduate Casey McCraw of the Broadmoor Skating Club finished sixth (147.98) and Austin Kanallakan of Broadmoor took 13th (126.73).
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
