Andrew Alexander "Andy" Gabel (born December 23, 1964) is a four-time, short track speedskating U.S. Olympian (1988, 1992, 1994, 1998),[1] and holds a silver medal as a member of the 1994 5000 meter Short Track relay team.[2] Gabel was also a member of the National Short Track Team for the longest in U.S. Speedskating history in either Long or Short Track.[2]
In 2013, Gabel was accused of, and to a degree acknowledged, improper sexual relations with two female skaters in the Olympic speedskating program, both aged 15 and respectively 18 and 11 years his junior at the times of the beginnings of the relationships. As a result of the accusations, Gabel resigned from the International Skating Union (ISU) and U.S. Speedskating.[3]
Olympic Abuse: The Role of National Governing Bodies in Protecting Our Athletes
Andy Gabel's case, occurring before the widespread emergence of the #MeToo movement, demonstrated early parallels to the larger discussions surrounding athlete abuse and misconduct, during the Larry Nassar case. This underscored the need for enhanced awareness, prevention, and accountability, ultimately contributing to the momentum that led to the rise of the #MeToo movement and its focus on addressing such issues in sports and beyond.[4]
Personal life
Gabel grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, and is the son of Andy Gabel, Sr., and Evie Gabel. He has one brother and three sisters.[5]
Gabel was a member of the National Short Track Team from 1979 to 1998, the longest in U.S. Speedskating history in either Long or Short Track; he was also a member of the National Long Track Team from 1981 to 1989.[2] Gabel won over 75 international medals as a member of the World Short Track Team from 1987 to 1998.[2] He also competed in 12 World Championships.[6]
At the 1994 Lillehammer Games, Gabel won a silver medal as a member of the 5000 meter Short Track relay team, skating the fastest leg in the relay.[5]
In 1994, Gabel was elected to the U.S. Speedskating's 15-member governing Board of Directors as an athlete representative.[2] He was elected as the Office of Vice President in 1999 and became the sixth President in 2002, succeeding Fred Benjamin.[7] Gabel negotiated sponsorship agreements with ADT and Qwest, during his tenure as President.[6]
Gabel secured his Olympic Team spot during the 1998 Olympic trials in Lake Placid, NY by winning the 1000-meter and 500-meter heats, including the final 500-meter heat in 43.032 seconds, beating the old U.S. mark of 43.250 set in 1996 by Scott Koons of Cleveland, OH.[8] The Associated Press called a 33-year-old Gabel "something of a geriatric marvel in a sport that now normally is dominated by much younger skaters."[8]
During the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Gabel and Amy Peterson, the last American prospects for a medal in short track speedskating, were eliminated in the semifinals; Gabel, called "Grandpa" or "the Godfather" by his younger teammates, was knocked out in the men's 500 meter race after clipping a lane marker and tumbling into the padded boards.[9]
Three-time Olympic medalist Peterson fell behind in the women's 1000 meter semifinal heat; that year, the U.S. Olympic team received 13 medals, matching the record set in Lillehammer.[9]
For the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Gabel was the Director of Figure Skating and Short Track speedskating.[2] Gabel served as a member of the ISU Short Track World Cup Management Commission from 1998 to 2002, and is presently the Chairman of the ISU Short Track Technical Committee.[2]
On April 26, 2003, at Anaheim, CA, Gabel was elected to the speedskating hall of fame.[2]
Sexual misconduct
In late February 2013, speedskater Bridie Farrell, 31, "allege[d] she was 15 when she and Gabel, then in his 30s and a teammate, first had improper sexual contact that she said occurred multiple times in 1997 and 1998. Gabel told the [Chicago] Tribune in a statement … that he had a 'brief, inappropriate relationship with a female teammate', made no excuses for his behavior and apologized to her for it". Farrell had informed the U.S. Olympic Committee what had happened the day before the public statement. Farrell, who said "neither rape nor sexual intercourse had taken place", said she appreciated the apology from Gabel, but replied: "Adults who abuse children should not have access to children. They shouldn't be allowed in the skating rink, they shouldn't be allowed in the gym, they shouldn't be allowed on the soccer fields, the softball fields." USOC CEO Scott Blackmun "said he was glad [Farrell] chose to tell her story because it would help others in similar circumstances hear they are not alone". Farrell said, "For me to receive a phone call from Scott at the USOC meant the world to me, not because he was calling me but because maybe the U.S. Olympic Committee is understanding the amount of devastation this wreaks within our sport.… Maybe it is finally time for true, true change."[10]
In early March 2013, Gabel resigned from the International Skating Union and U.S. Speedskating.[3]
Also in March 2013, a second report emerged. Having heard of Farrell's experience, "Nikki Meyer, who was known by her maiden name of Nikki Ziegelmeyer when she won short track relay medals for the U.S. at the Albertville and Lillehammer Games," accused Gabel of raping her soon after she joined the Olympic training program, summer 1991. She described the alleged attack and ensuing three-year relationship in explicit detail and said, "He’s a child molester … rapist … sexual abuser [and] … pedophile". Gabel acknowledged "he made mistakes during his skating career, but strongly denied forcing himself on anyone". Meyer said she was not sure if she would "pursue criminal charges" or if she even could "because of the possible statute of limitations". But she hoped Gabel would receive "a lifetime ban from U.S. Speedskating and [removal] from the … Hall of Fame".[3]
U.S. Speedskating said in a statement it "will not tolerate abuse of any kind [and], through a referral from the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Safe Sport program", and hired the law firm Sidley Austin LLP "to investigate all accusations involving Gabel".[3]
Olympic Record
Men's Speedskating Competitor for the United States
In August 2004, he joined The Bonham Group, a Denver-based sports marketing company;[11] he was responsible for new business development, business planning and budgeting.[6]
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. In the Olympic Games, long-track speed skating is usually referred to as just "speed skating", while short-track speed skating is known as "short track". The International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of competitive ice sports, refers to long track as "speed skating" and short track as "short track skating". Long track speed skating takes place on a 400m ice track, while short track takes place on a 111m track.
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Having lost the bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics to Albertville in France, Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Winter Games on 15 September 1988, two days before the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies at the 94th IOC Session in Seoul, South Korea. Due to the calendar changes made in 1986, this was the only time that the Winter Olympics took place two years after the previous Winter Games, and the first to be held in a different year from the Summer Olympics. This was also the first Winter Olympics to be held during the Commonwealth Games and FIFA World Cup year. This was the second Olympic Games of any type hosted in Norway — the first being the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo — and the fourth Olympics overall to be held in a Nordic country, after the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Lillehammer is the northernmost city ever to host the Olympic Games.
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