John Godina - Track and Field Coach - Grand Canyon University Athletics

John Godina

Title:
Volunteer Assistant

John Godina will start his first season with the GCU Track and Field teams in September of 2021. Godina specializes in coaching with the throws team.

Godina was a professional track and field athlete for 14 years. In that time, he became a four-time world champion, three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medalist in shot put. He also was a receiver of the Jesse Owens Award twice.

When Godina retired in 2009 from his professional throwing career, he expanded his already established track and field training facilities in what is called Altis today. The program combined elite athlete training, coaches education system and nationwide youth camps.

In 2012, Godina continued to expand Altis to include all track and field events. In 2015, Altis was re-branded to the World Athletics Center, where they sent 17 athletes to the World Championships and won five medals. Altis also sent 21 athletes to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and came home with five medals.

Godina's team at Altis worked well together, and one of his team members was his wife, who is an expert in finance and worked as the chief financial officer of private and public companies. Godina sold his business in 2018 to explore more opportunities and ventures.

The Cheyenne, Wyoming, native attended UCLA, where he was the caption of the Bruins track and field team, and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology. He was a five-time NCAA champion, and 11-time All-American.