Eugene Godsoe (born January 20, 1988) is an American former competition swimmer who competed for the exceptionally strong program at Stanford University under Coaches Skip Kenney and Ted Knapp and specialized in backstroke and butterfly events. At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships, Godsoe placed 2nd in the 50m butterfly. He won a total of eleven medals in international competition from 2010 to 2015, which included eight silver and three bronze.
Early life Godsoe was born January 20, 1988 in Greensboro, North Carolina, to Yoko and Gene Godsoe. With a Japanese mother, he became fluent in Japanese. In high school, he swam with the Greensboro Swimming Association where he was coached by Kevin Thornton. Godsoe swam for Southeast Guilford High School, where as a senior in 2006, he broke both his records in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke for the fourth successive year at the North Carolina 3A state swimming championships. He swam the 100 butterfly in 48.78, and the 100 butterfly in 48.49, and was named the meet's Most Valuable Performer. In each of his four high school years, he was an All-American, ranking first nationally in the 100-yard backstroke and fourth in the 100-yard butterfly.
Stanford University He competed collegiately at Stanford University from 2006 to 2010, where he won an NCAA championship in the 100 yard backstroke and trained under Head Coach Skip Kenney, an International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee and Assistant Coach Ted Knapp. Godsoe won medals at the NCAA championships each years from 2008 to 2010, including his gold in the 100 yard backstroke in 2010. He returned to North Carolina after college to train at SwimMAC under head coach David Marsh.Player Bio: Eugene Godsoe - Stanford Athletics. gostanford.com. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
At the 2012 Olympic trials, Godsoe failed to qualify for the US Olympic team, finishing fifth in his specialty the 100-meter backstroke, and seventh in the 100-meter butterfly.
International competition highlights Highlighting his achievements in international competition, at the PanAmerican games in 2011 in Guadalajara and 2015 in Toronto, Canada, he won a total of five silver medals and two bronze. At World Aquatic Long Course Championships in 2013 in Barcelona, Spain, he won a silver medal in the 50-meter butterfly. Adding relay medals to his international portfolio at the 2014 World Aquatic Short Course Championships, in Doha, a silver in the 50-meter backstroke, a silver in the 4x100 meter medley, and a bronze in the 4x50 meter medley.
In April 2015, he trained with Tony Batis at Stanford Aquatics in Palo Alto, to continue to be competitive on the international stage, and possibly with the hopes of making the 2016 Olympic team.
References
External links
Eugene Godsoe – Stanford University athlete profile at GoStanford.com