John
Godina is readily recognized as one of the greatest American throwers of all
time – sharing the same rarified air with Mac Wilkins, Al Oerter, and
contemporaries such as Adam Nelson and Reese Hoffa. A native of Cheyenne,
Wyoming, Godina excelled has a high school athlete, making All-American in both
football and track before heading farther west to attend college at UCLA, where
he won five NCAA championships in the shot-put and discus (three outdoor, two
indoor) while breaking the national record in the shot (22.00 meters) with his
1995 title performance.
 |
| John Godina is a four-time world champion in the shot-put, but now spends more time training world class throwers. (R: video of Godina's 22.00-meter toss) |
In
late 2013, Godina received perhaps his biggest public acclaim to date, being
inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame. This accolade could be due to his versatility
as a thrower. Although all of his World championships and Olympic medals were
in the shot-put, he is one of only 10 men to be ranked in the Track and Field
News World Top 10 for the shot and discus in the same year; in fact, his 1-3
ranking in 1998 was the second best ever.
Today,
Godina, 41, trains world class throwers such as Vikas Gowda and Suzy Powell,
and has opened the World Athletics Center (worldthrowscenter.com), a high level
training facility for athletes of all ages. Currently there are four locations
– two in Arizona and two in Northern California, but plans for further
expansion are in the works for 2014 and beyond.
Q: You retired from
competition in 2009. How did you make the transition from being a professional
athlete to opening the World Throws Center?
Godina: I officially retired in 2009, but my last competition
was at the 2008 Olympic Trials. I just needed some time after the meet to think
about things. But even back in ’06, after my shoulder surgery, I realized that
I didn’t have much (competition) time left, and started thinking about what I
was going to do after this. I knew that track was my calling card, where my
name was known, and that I wanted to morph into something that dealt with the
throwing business. But, I eventually wanted to get involved with all of track
and field, not just the throws, which is why we changed the name to the World
Athletics Center. We knew that would be the endpoint.
Q: Indeed, you have moved beyond just throws. In
fact, it looks like you’re getting involved with other sports. How do you go
about finding another sport to add?
Godina: You must be talking about the bobsled. Sometimes
it just works. Bobsled teams are mostly made up of former track athletes, with
enough leg strength to push the sled. Some of the training is the same. I hope
we’re helping. USA Bobsled seems happy with what we’re doing. Our athletes have
a couple of early wins in World Cup events. I enjoy the fact that we work with
athletes who are in the Olympics every two years.
Q: Are you currently looking to expand to other
sports?
No comments:
Post a Comment