TIMOTHY GOEBEL: My strength is obviously my technical ability. I am still doing more than anyone else. I have a little bit of an edge technically doing three quads versus a few people that are doing two. But, the majority of people are doing one. My artistry is definitely the weakness of my skating, but I think this year I’ve made a few steps in making them pretty much equal. There are always things to work on, whether you are a five-time world champion like one of my coaches, or a 10-time world champion. There is always something you can improve upon and you just work every day to make something a little bit better!

Q2: Do you remember your first quad?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: Absolutely. I’ll never forget it. Until the 1999 Skate America when I landed three quads, the first one I did was definitely the highlight of my career. It was at the Junior Grand Prix final in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1998. There was no crowd—maybe 100. It was a junior competition. It was the U.S. Team and some parents and judges. Actually, I believe the President of the International Olympic Committee was there too.

Q3: How do work things out with your coach, Frank Carroll?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: Basically, I do what Frank tells me to do. The reason I want him is because of the way he works as a coach. If I’m not going to listen, then why have him as a coach? I trust completely in whatever he tells me to do. He’s had so much success as a coach and he’s helped me improve so much in such a short time, why would I do anything different? It is really hard, especially in the U.S., to find a really, really great coach all-around, and he has surrounded around himself a team of great people. I don’t just work with Frank—I work with several people improving different aspects of my skating. That was one of the main reasons that I wasn’t just going to work with him on technique and on programs—I was going to be working with people that were going to bring different aspects to my skating.

It is really hard especially in the U.S. to find a really, really great coach all around and he has surrounded around himself a team of great people. I don't just work with Frank; I work with several people improving different aspects of my skating. That was one of the main reasons that I wasn't just going to work with him on technique and on programs I was going to be working with people that were going to bring different aspects to my skating.

Q4: How is Michelle Kwan handling the pressure?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: I really can’t imagine the pressure that she’s under. Irina Slutskaya (a Russian skater) has been successful in beating her and she was so close at the World Championships … one step away from possibly beating her (Slutskaya). She has stayed in for four years to win the Olympic gold medal, and four years is a long time to come in every day and train the way she trains—physically and emotionally to put yourself through that. I can’t imagine the kind of pressure she must be under not only from the outside, but from herself. For everything that she could have been doing … she could have been touring and going to school and enjoying her life. A silver medal is nothing to be ashamed of, and she’s stuck it out to win. I can’t imagine what it must be like to every day come in and say, “alright, I have five months and this is what I’ve waited almost five years to do.” Unbelievable pressure.

Q5: Now that you are a national champion, are you feeling any pressure?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: I feel almost less pressure this year because, being that it’s the Olympic Trials, I don’t really feel like I am defending a national title. I feel like I am earning a spot on the Olympic Team, which has always been something I’ve dreamed of. I want to be national champion. I want to defend my title. But, my dream has always been to be an Olympian. So, I feel tat first, second or third, as long as I get a spot on the team, I have accomplished my goal.

Q6: How did the events of September 11 affect you?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: They closed my rink for a few days because of its close proximity to LAX. It was hard to go in to train and focus. It was upsetting to me. My mom wakes me up early and I am watching this on TV and then I am calling my friends who go to school in New York and I can’t get a hold of anyone. The phone lines are down. The cell phones aren’t working. It took me about three or four hours to finally get responses back from people. That whole week it was really difficult to train. I’m driving to the rink and I’m listening to this on the radio and I get home and I am watching it on TV and it was just … surreal. When I drive to the rink, I drive past LAX. It’s such a busy airport. It is always crowded and there’s always traffic. I left for the rink Tuesday morning and there was not a sound. The only thing you saw was the police helicopter flying around the airport and it was so eerie. There were no cars. There were no planes. It was nothing. It was like a ghost town. I think there’s been such a surge in patriotism. It’s really nice to see. We all tend to get a little complacent with what we have. When you are looking at the year coverage, especially now, of how people are forced to live in other countries, you just forget how easy it is and how lucky we are to be born here versus the Middle East, where women can’t even go to school. It’s nice to see people showing their appreciation for what so many people have worked so hard for. Who would have thought what happened on the 11th could happen? You can’t prepare for it. You just have to live life like normal. If you live in fear, then why do you live in the United States? If you are not gong to live freely, and live a normal life that you have always been used to, then what’s the point of living in this country?

Q7: What's the deal with traveling with your skates?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: That is a major concern. Even coming here I am really antsy until the bag comes out with my skates, because it takes so long to break in a new pair of skates at our level and get blades mounted and have everything working well so that you can skate your best. You have three days at competitions and if your skates don’t show up or they’re lost or they’re damaged, you’re pretty much out of luck. I bring a backup pair. My mom travels with an extra pair of skates, but really it could be a major problem—especially with connections. I planned all my flights this year to have as few or no connections as possible, so that I don’t have the risk of going through another airport and another baggage-handling system and having my skates lost. I hope that nobody has a problem, but unless you have them with you at all times, you can never really guarantee that they will make it there in one piece.

Q8: Have you ever lost your skates in travel?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: I’ve never checked skates before. When I did the Memorial Fund Exhibitions in New York, it was the first time. Angela Nikidinov was on my flight as well, and we were sweating it a little bit because we’ve always had them with us. At a competition, I literally do not have my skates out of my sight. They are locked in a room or they’re with me. I don’t even put them down at the rink to go warm-up. I have someone sit with them. So to put them on a plane and fly to Germany for eight hours and to have no idea where they are or who has them or anything is not the most comforting feeling.

Q9: What does your skating future hold?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: I certainly don’t see this as my last Olympics. Hopefully I’ll make my first Olympics this year, but I plan on staying in for the next several years. I don’t know if I’ll be trying for the team when I’m 30, but I’ll probably stay around for a while.

Q10: What are your chances in Salt Lake?

TIMOTHY GOEBEL: This is my first real shot at the Olympics. If I make the team, it will be my first Olympics. Because of that and so many other people going that have been to the Olympics at least once before, I certainly don’t think I’m favored to get a medal. It’s not out of the question, but I’m certainly not favored to. But, I think that I am sort of the future. There are a lot of people that are going to drop out after this year and, just because of that, I’ll sort of be on top of the leap over the next few years.

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