Elija Godwin
Elija Godwin at Oregon 2022
Personal information
Born (1999-07-01) July 1, 1999
Covington, Georgia, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
Event(s)200m, 400m
College teamGeorgia Bulldogs
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • 100 m: 10.47 (Atlanta 2019)
  • 200 m: 20.32 (Athens, GA 2021)
  • 400 m: 44.61 (College Station 2021)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2020 Tokyo4×400 m mixed
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Eugene4×400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2022 Eugene4×400 m mixed

Elija Godwin (born July 1, 1999) is an American athlete who specialises in the 400 metres.[1]

Career

Early career

From Covington, Georgia and a student at the University of Georgia. Initially, Godwin only ran on the track to condition himself for football. Then, once he began to train more seriously he would run mostly 100m and 200m. This was until his coach Kevin Barnes looking at his split times and suggested he run an open 400m race. Godwin ran 47.40 for the 400m at his first race.[2]

Javelin injury

On May 7, 2019, Godwin suffered a serious injury during a training session when he was impaled by a javelin whilst running backward sprints at Georgia track and field practice, prior to the 2019 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[3] The accident left Godwin with wounds to his back and shoulder and collapsed his left lung. Emergency services attended to him and ground off part of the javelin before he was taken to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Centre, where the rest of it was removed by surgeons.[4]

2021

On May 15, 2021 he ran a personal best 44.61 at the Cushing stadium in Texas at the SEC Outdoor Championships to meet the Olympic qualifying standard.[5] At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon he finished fourth in his heat in a time of 46.18.[6]

He qualified for the final of the USA men’s Olympic Trials 400m race, running 44.81 and 45.10 in the heats.[7] In the final he placed sixth and qualified for US men’s relay pool for the 4x400m at the 2020 Summer Games.[8] At the Olympics he won a Bronze medal as part of the American Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay team.[9][10]

2022

Indoors, Godwin finished 7th in his heat of the 400m at the SEC Championships and did not make the final, but returned to anchor the University of Georgia's 4x400m team with a winning 44.95 leg.[11] At the NCAA Indoor Championships, he finished 4th in his heat of the 400m and anchored Georgia to 4th in the 4x400m final.[12] Outdoors, Godwin was the runner-up at the SEC Championship meet in 44.81, behind Champion Allison of Florida who ran 44.74.[13] At the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Godwin placed 3rd in a personal-best 44.50 behind Allison (44.41) and defending champion Randolph Ross (44.13) of North Carolina A&T.[14] Competing for the United States at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon Godwin won bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay and then gold in the men’s 4x400m relay, completing the first leg in a team also consisting of Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon and Champion Allison.[15]

Personal life

His mother, Ginger Luby, was working her job as an administrator in a doctor’s office when she received the call that Elija had been injured by the javelin in 2019.[16] Godwin has one brother, Okon Godwin and a sister, Kyaundra Ward. He graduated from Newton High School in Covington, Georgia in 2018. Godwin received special recognition from Covington’s city council by way of a proclamation that made 10 September 2022 “Elija Godwin” day.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Elija GODWIN". WorldAthletics.org.
  2. ↑ "Quick Chat: Elija Godwin". University of Georgia Athletics.
  3. ↑ Hollobaugh, Jeff (March 5, 2020). "Elija Godwin Bouncing Back From Nasty Javelin Injury".
  4. ↑ "University of Georgia sprinter seriously injured after being impaled on javelin". The Guardian. May 8, 2019.
  5. ↑ "SEC Championships (May 13-15, 2021). Men 400 M". results.flashresults.com.
  6. ↑ "NCAA Championships (June 9-12, 2021). Men 400 M (Semifinals)". dt8v5llb2dwhs.cloudfront.net. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Results". results.usatf.org.
  8. ↑ Nick Zaccardi (June 27, 2021). "U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials results". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Athletics - Team United States of America". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Godwin, Irby Collect Bronze Medals From Olympic Relay". georgiadogs.com. University of Georgia Athletics. July 31, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  11. ↑ "SEC Indoor Championships (February 25-26, 2022) Men 400 M". results.flashresults.com.
  12. ↑ "NCAA Indoor Championships (March 11-12, 2022) Men 400 M". results.flashresults.com.
  13. ↑ "SEC Championships (May 12-14, 2022) Men 400 M". live.deltatiming.com.
  14. ↑ "NCAA Championships (June 8-11, 2022) Men 400 M". flashresults.ncaa.com.
  15. ↑ "Elija Godwin Wins Gold To End World Championships". georgiabulldogs.com.
  16. ↑ Chip Towers. "Having survived impalement by javelin, Georgia's Elija Godwin is happy to share his testimony". Dawg Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Elija Godwin cherishes hometown's support on 'Elija Godwin Day'". Covnews.com.
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