Athens bound

It was a telephone call that Jennifer Goeckel had been waiting for all her life.

University of Arizona wheelchair track and field coach Derek Brown had some exciting news to share with the 2000 Lynnwood High School graduate.

Following her chat with Brown, Goeckel went online to confirm what her coach had relayed to her.

What Goeckel read on the Internet made her spirits soar.

The official announcement on the U.S. Paralympic Web site indicated that Goeckel was one of 42 athletes who were selected for the 2004 U.S. Paralympic Track and Field team.

Goeckel and her teammates are scheduled to leave for Athens, Greece, next month to participate in the XII Paralympics.

“I was very shocked when I found out that I made the team, not that I doubted myself,” Goeckel said. “It was kind of surreal seeing your name on the list … this is something we (my parents and I) have talked about since I was little.”

Goeckel, 22, was born with spina bifida, a condition in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. Some individuals with the disorder are confined to wheelchairs. Goeckel, however, is able to walk unaided. She will be competing in the 100-, 200-, 400-, 800-and 1,500-meter wheelchair races.

The Paralympics are the Olympic equivalent for athletes with disabilities.

“I think the ultimate goal for every wheelchair athlete is the Paralympics,” said Goeckel, who graduated with a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Arizona last May. “I would say I really started seriously training for it when I came out to the University of Arizona.”

This was Goeckel’s second attempt to qualify for the Paralympics. Goeckel was hoping to make it to Sydney for the 2000 Games but fell short.

“I wasn’t at that level,” Goeckel said. “I really took the next couple of years to really focus and train.”

In order to be eligible for the team, individuals must make one of three time standards — elite, A or B.

Goeckel made an elite time standard in the 1,500 and has at least a B standard in every other event. Goeckel had several meets in which to make her time standards.

“I didn’t really think about it as qualifying meets,” she said. “I tried to focus on the actual event. I think that kind of helped.”

Coaches have the final say on who is named to the teams.

“The standards were very, very high for making the team,” Brown said. “The athletes put a lot of time and discipline and hard work into it.”

Of the five events she will be competing in, Goeckel plans on focusing on the 400. Goeckel’s current time is about one minute and she is hoping to lower it to 57 seconds.

Five events seems like a lot, but having the races spread out helps matters.

“It’s going to be difficult,” Goeckel said. “I think it’ll be OK.”

Goeckel was selected for those five events because she’s shown solid potential in all of them, Brown said.

“I think she has a chance to medal in any of those events,” Brown said. “I think it’s pretty incredible that she’s representing her country in five events.”

Goeckel chose the University of Arizona, in part, because of its adaptive athletic program. She was a member of the track team for four years.

Most of the fall and winter revolved around road racing before track season started up in the spring. Three other wheelchair track and field athletes from the University of Arizona also made the Paralympic track team.

Following the Paralympics, Goeckel plans to take a year off from school and then start a master’s program.

“My interests right now are in special education as well as school counseling,” she said.

This week Goeckel is at an official training camp at the U.S. Olympic training center in Chula Vista, Calif., just outside of San Diego.

Goeckel then will return to Tucson and resume her two-a-day workouts. Goeckel does either track or road work in the morning followed by weight lifting or stationary roller work in the afternoon.

Goeckel leaves for Washington, D.C., Sept. 3 for processing and then heads to Athens the next day.

“I’ve kind of been battling nerves throughout the whole process,” Goeckel said. “Right now I feel pretty good. It feels more like a team trip out there … I’m just appreciating it and enjoying being a role model and representing our school.”

Goeckel will have a large cheering section in Athens. Her parents, grandparents and other relatives plan to make the trip to Greece to show their support.

If all goes according to plan, this won’t be the Goeckel’s last appearance at the Paralympics. The next Summer Paralympics will be hosted by China in 2008 and Goeckel wants to be there.

“I definitely have a chance in another four years,” she said. “That’s kind of going to be the goal after this. I have a strong desire to continue training.”