Jernej Godec (born January 16, 1986, in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

) is a

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

and

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, who competed for his native country at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Member of the Ilirija Swimming Club from

; his former coaches include Aleš Cerkovnik and Borut Klinec but in 2004 moved to the USA as a student-athlete majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology and competing for the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. After training with coach

Mike Bottom Mike Bottom (c. 1956) is the ninth head coach of the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving program at the University of Michigan. His men's team finished as champions at the 2013 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. Swimming car ...

for several years he continued under the current

Cal Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

swimming team head coach

Dave Durden Dave Durden is an American swimming coach. Durden has been the men's swimming head coach at University of California, Berkeley since 2007. In 2018, USA Swimming selected Durden as the Head Coach for the 2020 US Olympic Men's Swimming Team. In 201 ...

. He moved to

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

to continue pursuing a doctoral degree in Immunology at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, which he completed in 2016. Jernej now lives in

New York City, NY New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Godec currently holds the Slovenian national records in 50 m freestyle (22.19) and 50 m butterfly (23.20) in long course (50 m) swimming pools as well as 50 meter butterfly (22.47), 50 meter freestyle (21.18), and 50 meter backstroke (23.53) in short course (25 m) pools and still holds numerous national records in different age group categories. With these times, he is currently ranked as 15th in 50m butterfly (long course meters pool) and 9th in 50m butterfly, 17th in 50m freestyle, 21st in 50m backstroke (short course meters pool) on the FINA all-time world rankings. He is married to a dermatologist in Winchester.

Achievements

* 2003: ** European Junior Championships — 3rd, 100 m freestyle; 5th, 200 m freestyle **

World Aquatics Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming events ar ...

— 10th, 4×100 m medley relay * 2004: Olympic Games, Athens — 14th, 4×100 m medley relay * 2005: **

— 19th, 50 m butterfly; 25th, 50 m freestyle; 12th, 4×100 m freestyle relay; final, 4×100 m medley relay (dq) **

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

— 3rd, 50 m freestyle * 2006: European LC Championships — 9th, 50 m butterfly; 11th, 50 m freestyle; 14th, 100 m butterfly * 2007:

— 14th, 50 m freestyle; 14th, 50 m butterfly * 2008: ** Olympic Games, Beijing — 18th, 50 m freestyle ** World Short Course Swimming Championships — 7th, 50 m freestyle; 12th, 50 m butterfly * 2009: **

— 12th, 50 m butterfly **

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

— 1st, 50 m butterfly ** CISM World Military Championships — 1st, 50 m butterfly (CISM Record); 1st, 50 m freestyle; 2nd, 100 m freestyle **

European Short Course Swimming Championships The European Short Course Swimming Championships (variously referred to informally as the "Short Course Europeans" or "European 25m Championships") are a swimming meet, organized by LEN. The meet features swimmers from Europe, competing in events ...

— 4th, 50 m butterfly; 10th, 50 m freestyle; 10th, 4x50m medley relay: 12th 50m backstroke

References

*
Cal Bears: Jernej Godec BioSlovenian Swimming FederationCISM ResultsFINA World Rankings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godec, Jernej 1986 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Slovenia Slovenian male freestyle swimmers Male butterfly swimmers Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics University of California, Berkeley alumni Sportspeople from Ljubljana Slovenian male swimmers Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Slovenia Swimmers at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for Slovenia Harvard Medical School alumni Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade

Achievements

See also

References