John Carl Godina is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 shot put

Shot put

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

ter, whose record includes three World Championship

IAAF World Championships in Athletics

The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...

 wins and two Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 medals. He also competes in discus

Discus

Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...

.

High School Years

While attending Cheyenne Central High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

, Godina was a letterman in football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 and outdoor track and field. He was an All-State honoree, and an All-American in both sports.

College Years and Olympics

At college level, competing for UCLA, he won three outdoor NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 championship victories, two in discus

Discus

Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...

 and one in shot put. His 1995 NCAA Outdoor shot put title was a national record, at the time with a throw of 22.00 meters (72'2.25"). In 1995, he won his first World Championship title in shot put, adding additional titles in 1997, and 2001. In the same discipline, he finished second in the 1996 Olympics and third in the 2000 Olympics.

Godina is one of the most decorated shot putters in U.S. athletics history. His legacy compares well with Parry O'Brien

Parry O'Brien

William Parry O'Brien, Jr. was an American shot put champion. Born in Santa Monica, California, he competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics where he won two gold medals and one silver medal . In his last Olympic competition he placed fourth. For this, he is inducted in the U.S...

, who won two Olympic gold medals (1952, 1956) and one silver medal (1960), placed fourth in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, and broke the world record 17 times.

Achievements

Representing the
1996	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 20 by women. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.-Men:...	Atlanta, United States Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...	2nd	20.79 m Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's shot put These are the official results of the Men's Shot Put event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were a total number of 36 competitors, with twelve athletes reaching the final.-Medalists:-Abbreviations:-Records:-Group A:...  (SP)
1997	IAAF Grand Prix Final 1997 IAAF Grand Prix Final The 13th IAAF Grand Prix Final was held at the Hakata-no-mori Stadium in Fukuoka, Japan on September 13, 1997.-Men:- Women :-External links:*...	Fukuoka, Japan	3rd	65.56 m (DT)
2001	World Championships 2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America...	Edmonton, Canada	1st	21.87 m 2001 World Championships in Athletics – Men's shot put The Men's Shot Put event at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada was held on Saturday August 4, 2001. There were a total number of 30 participating athletes, with the qualification mark set at 20.45 metres.-Medalists:-Schedule:...  (SP)
2004	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...	Athens, Greece	9th	20.19 m (SP)

External links

• John Godina's U.S. Olympic Team bio

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