GODINA'S LUCK RUNS OUT; EX-UCLA SHOT-PUTTER MISSES BID TO REPEAT AS WORLD CHAMP.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News A stroke of good fortune put John Godina John Carl Godina (born May 31, 1972 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma) is an American shot putter, whose record includes three World Championship wins and two Olympic medals. He also competes in discus. into the World Track Championships in the shot put with a wild-card invitation after he failed to qualify for the U.S. team in the national meet in June. Godina, the former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX star, could have used a little bit more luck in Saturday night's shot-put final. Aleksandr Bagach of Ukraine edged the 1995 world champion by an inch - 70 feet, 5-1/4 inches to 70-4-1/4 - to deny Godina his bid to become the second man to repeat as multiple world champion in the shot put. In the U.S. championships in Indianapolis in June, Godina finished fourth but received a berth into the world championships by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, which allowed defending world champions to compete even if they failed to qualify at their national trials. ``Entry into the shot put here was a present, but I still came here with a job to do,'' said Godina, who has a best of 72-2-1/4. ``I was consistent but not far enough. I was ready to do a lot more than that. I've got to start winning these things "These Things" is an EP by She Wants Revenge, released in 2005 by Perfect Kiss, a subsidiary of Geffen Records. Music Video The music video stars Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage. Track Listing 1. "These Things [Radio Edit]" - 3:17 2. . It seems like someone always squeaks by and it's starting to make me a little upset.'' Godina, the 1995 NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association champion in the shot put and the discus as a senior with the Bruins, avenged his disappointment in the U.S. championships with a triumph in the discus. He's hoping to do the same here in the discus competition, which begins Friday. ``Having the discus coming up is nice, at least I am not done here,'' said Godina, who, in the Atlanta Games last summer, became the first man to compete in the shot put and discus in the Olympics since 1924. ``If I win the discus, I'll forgive myself for this one. I was ready and there was no way I should have lost.'' Godina appeared on his way to victory Saturday night after taking the lead with a mark of 69-8-1/4 in the first round before Bagach, fourth in the 1995 world championships, leaped into first in the third round with his winning put. Godina responded with an effort of 70-4-1/4 on his third throw but could only manage marks of 69-6-1/4 and 69-6-3/4 in the fourth and fifth rounds and fouled on the final put. Oliver-Sven Buder Oliver-Sven Buder (born June 23, 1966 in Erlabrunn, Saxony) is a German track and field athlete, who in the 1990's belonged to the best shot-putters in the world. The high point of his career came at the World Championships in 1997 and 1999 where he won the silver medal. of Germany finished in third at 69-8-1/4. In the preliminaries earlier Saturday, Godina posted the top mark of 69-2-3/4 on his first and only qualifying put. ``I was consistent but not far enough,'' Godina said. Randy Barnes Eric Randolph ("Randy") Barnes (born June 16, 1966) is an American shot putter who holds outdoor and indoor distance records. He won silver at the 1988 Olympics and gold at the 1996 Olympics. , the world-record holder at 75-10-1/4 and 1997 world leader at 72-2, posted a best effort of only 64-0-1/2 for the 14th best-mark in the preliminaries. ``I thought Godina and Barnes would be the most serious opponents,'' Bagach said. ``I am so sorry for Barnes, today he was under the influence of bad luck.'' Ato Boldon Ato Jabari Boldon (born December 30, 1973) is a retired athlete from Trinidad and Tobago, the 1997 200 m World Champion and four-time Olympic medal winner. Only 2 other men in history, Frankie Fredericks of Namibia and Carl Lewis of the USA, have won as many Olympic individual , a teammate of Godina's at UCLA representing Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (trĭn`ĭdăd, təbā`gō), officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, republic (2005 est. pop. 1,088,000), 1,980 sq mi (5,129 sq km), West Indies. The capital is Port of Spain. , moved into fifth on the all-time 100-meter list after clocking 9.87 seconds to edge U.S. national champion and training partner Maurice Greene Maurice Greene may refer to:
Boldon and Greene were among four men to dip under 10 seconds in the second round. Tim Montgomery Timothy Montgomery (born January 25, 1975) is a former American athlete and 100 m record holder. He was stripped of his records after being found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. of the U.S. and Frankie Fredericks Frank ("Frankie") Fredericks (born October 2, 1967) is a Namibian former athlete, the first and so far only Olympic medalist of his country. Born in Windhoek, Frankie Fredericks was awarded a scholarship at Brigham Young University in the U.S. in 1987. of Nyambia clocked 9.99. Marion Jones Marion Jones, also known as Marion Jones-Thompson (born October 12, 1975 in Los Angeles, California), is an American former athlete in track and field. She was the winner of five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which she later relinquished after won both her 100 heats to advance to today's semifinals. The 1993 Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. High star was last out of the blocks but clocked 11.07 seconds despite easing up in the final 25 meters in the first round. Jones, whose fiance, C.J. Hunter, finished fourth in the men's final Saturday, cruised to a 10.96 clocking to win her second-round heat. The victory advanced her into today's semifinals. ``In my first race I just wanted to get a feel for the track and get into my sprint form,'' Jones said. ``I strided my race so I wanted to pick up the rhythm.'' U.S. teammates Inger Miller (of USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. ) and Chryste Gaines also advanced along with Zhanna Pintussevich of Ukraine and Merlene Ottey of Jamaica. Pintussevich set a national record of 10.90 to win her second-round heat and Ottey, the two- time world 200 champion, ran 11.00 to win. ``The third round is like a final where anything can happen,'' Jones said. ``I'm just really excited. I feel good and I am healthy.'' Defending champion Gwen Torrence of the U.S., who received a wild-card berth, did not run in the 100 after her manager notified USA Track and Field she would not compete. No reason was given. U.S. coach Gary Winckler announced that Gail Devers and not Jones, winner of the 100 at the national championships, will anchor the American 400-meter relay team. Winckler cited Devers' experience over Jones on the international level. Devers, the two-time Olympic 100 gold medalist, receieved a wild-card berth in the 100-meter high hurdles but will run in the relay only. In other preliminaries Saturday, USC's Balazs Kiss of Hungary, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist in the hammer and four-time NCAA champion, threw 264-7 on his first attempt to surpass the automatic qualifying standard of 251-0. It was the top qualifying mark for today's final. Seven-time U.S. national 1,500-meter champion Regina Jacobs, a 1981 graduate of the Argyll Academy now known as Campbell Hall, finished second in her first-round heat in 4:07.90 to advance to the semifinals. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--color) Former UCLA star John Godina's surprise turned to disappointment in the shot-put competition. (2) Ato Boldon moved into fifth on the all-time 100-meter list with a clocking of 9.87 seconds in the second round of qualifying. (3) Marion Jones, the ex-Thousand Oaks High star, races to one of her two 100-meter heat wins to reach today's semifinals. Associated Press |
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