GODINA CAN'T QUITE HIT GOAL\70-foot shot put will just have to wait.Byline: Bill Schlotter Daily News Staff Writer John Godina's best throw fell 4 inches short of his goal Saturday night. "I'm a little disappointed," said the reigning world shot put champ after beating a talented field at the L.A. Invitational Track Meet with a throw of 69-feet, 8-inches. "I guess I'll get 70 feet sometime - it's a long career." Indeed even with a world title in hand at the tender age of 23, it seems Godina has many more achievements ahead. "He's basically put himself up as the (Olympic) favorite," said second-place finisher and world-record holder 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. , who began what may be his final Olympic campaign with a throw of 68-7-3/4. Barnes said the emergence of Godina and other talented young putters are behind his return to competition at 29. "Oh yeah," he said. "It's got me excited. I'm fired up again. I think I can still do some pretty great things in the shot." Barnes said he came into the L.A. Invitational, attended by 8,050 at the Sports Arena, worried about being shown up by Godina. "I've only been in the ring about four times," said Barnes, who holds both the outdoor (75-10-1/4) and indoor (74-4-1/4) world marks. "And I was sick just two days ago. I thought I might come in here and embarrass myself." It didn't happen. "Actually, I was real pleased," he said. "I was hoping to go at least 66 (feet)." Godina was pleased, too, despite not making his goal. "It was just good to compete," he said. "Competing with a world-record holder is always tough." The competition might have been even tougher had current national champion Brent Noon, ranked fourth in the world in 1995, appeared. Noon was a late cancellation due to injury. Rounding out the shot put field were four 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 competitors, Mark Parlin (64-2-1/4), Jonathan Ogden Jonathan Phillip "Big Fat Boy" Ogden (born July 31, 1974 in Washington, DC) is an American football offensive tackle who currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens. He received his education at St. Albans School, excelling not only in football but also in track and field. (61-2-1/4), Travis Haynes (60-0-1/4) and Wade Tift (57-10-1/2). In other events, top-ranked American sprinter Jon Drummond Jonathan A. "Jon" Drummond (born September 9, 1968) is an American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jon Drummond is known for being among the world’s best starters. won the 50-meter dash in 5.68 seconds, a personal best. "I felt that was pretty good, considering I had an injured knee a couple of weeks ago and was in the hospital a couple of weeks before that," Drummond said. Drummond said he was diagnosed with meningitis four weeks ago in Texas, but the illness disappeared as fast it came and Drummond was out of the hospital in two days. Drummond said he really doesn't like to run indoors. "Growing up back east (Philadelphia), I ran on the boards a lot," he said. "I've had a lot of crashes, burns and splinters." Johnny Gray For the baseball player, see . Johnny Gray (born June 19, 1960) was an American 800m runner of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 min at a meet in Koblenz. , the 1992 Olympic bronze medalist, won the 880-yard run with a wire-to-wire effort. "The time was slow (1:49.79)," said the 35-year-old three-time Olympian. "But that really wasn't on my mind. I just wanted to come out and do a job, take the lead and come out victorious." Suzy Favor Hamilton was a last-minute scratch from the women's 880, but showed up anyway to support the event and training partner Michelle DiMuro. "I've been having some soreness in my Achilles," Favor Hamilton said. "So I decided to end my indoor season and get well. The main race is Atlanta and I want to do well in Atlanta." Favor Hamilton's support helped DiMuro, who took the lead about half way through to win in 2:06.23 over Jean Fletcher (2:07.83). In the women's shot put, UCLA's Valeyta Althouse extended her collegiate indoor record twice on succeeding throws, going from 59-feet, 0-inches to 59-1-1/2 to 59-3-1/2. In the women's mile, former Cal State Northridge standout Darcy Arreola finished a disappointing fourth behind winner Stephanie Best. Former Agoura High School Agoura High School is a four-year high school, freshman-senior, in Agoura Hills, California, United States. It is the largest high school in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. star Bryan Dameworth was sixth in the men's 3,000 meters (8:11.54) behind winner Marc Davis This article is about the Disney animator. For other uses, see Marc Davis (disambiguation). Marc Fraser Davis (March 30, 1913 – January 12, 2000) was a prominent artist and animator for Walt Disney Studios. (8:04.6). David Cox Prominent people named David Cox:
Track-and-field event consisting of a vault for height over a crossbar with the aid of a long pole. It became a competitive sport in the mid-19th century and was included in the first modern Olympic Games. with a modest vault of 18-4-1/2. CAPTION(S): PHOTO World champion 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. lets the shot put fly at the L.A. Invitational at the Sports Arena Saturday night. He won with a best throw of 69-8. John Lazar John Lazar was Mayor of Adelaide from 1855 to 1858. John LaZar (born May 22, 1946) is a classically trained American actor of both stage and screen. / Daily News |
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