'Quad King' wins bronze medal to delight of hometown fans

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (AP) _ Tim Goebel brought some Olympic pride to his hometown when he won a bronze medal in men's figure skating. <br><br>Goebel, 21, placed third Thursday night in Salt Lake City,

Friday, February 15th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (AP) _ Tim Goebel brought some Olympic pride to his hometown when he won a bronze medal in men's figure skating.

Goebel, 21, placed third Thursday night in Salt Lake City, the first time since 1992 an American man won a medal. He finished behind Russians Alexei Yagudin and Evgeni Plushenko.

``To be there was just outstanding, and to come ahead of the two other Americans, that was great,'' said Tim Mueller, who manages the skating rink where Goebel got his start at age 3. ``There's definitely going to be a large portrait of him wearing his medal hanging at the rink for as long as it stands.''

Goebel's first elementary school principal said it was clear early on he had the ability to achieve something special.

``He excelled in all the sports, but didn't play in organized sports because he didn't have much time,'' said Valerie Zemko, principal of St. Colette Elementary School. ``He was busy practicing his skating.''

Goebel attended St. Colette through the fifth grade before following his coach to Cleveland.

``He was outgoing, and he was a very determined little boy,'' Zemko said. ``He said he wanted to be a doctor.''

Now, Goebel is known as the ``Quad King'' because of his breathtaking jumping ability. On Thursday, he became the first Olympian to hit three of the four-revolution jumps in one performance at the games.

``We knew he was going somewhere,'' Zemko said.