“You have these dreams and aspirations that you want to live through, and that alone gave me my motivation to get past that moment and get better and become the athlete I needed to be to experience this moment.”

— Elija Godwin

Now, Godwin’s sights are set on the finish line as he prepares for the 4x400-meter relay.

He’s headed to Tokyo alongside former teammate Jasmine Moore, who qualified in the triple jump as a second-year student before transferring.

The pair will compete on the USA Track and Field team with six Georgia alumni, including Keturah Orji, who earned her bachelor’s degree from UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2018 and her master’s degree from the Mary Frances Early College of Education in 2019.

Three other UGA students are also going for gold in the Summer Games:

Duné Coetzee, an incoming first-year student, will swim for South Africa in the 800-meter relay.
Karel Tilga, a rising fourth-year economics major, will represent Estonia in the decathlon.
Johannes Erm, who qualified before graduating with his dual bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and communication studies, will also compete in the decathlon for Estonia.

“We are so incredibly proud of our 30-plus Olympians representing their countries and the University of Georgia,” said UGA Athletic Director Josh Brooks. “The fact that we have so many athletes competing in such a broad variety of sports is a testament to the elite student-athletes that this great university is attracting. Our student-athletes are making an impact in the classroom, in the community and on the premier competitive stage.”