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It could be the ultimate honour in sport.
There’s the “Fosbury Flop”, “The Cruyff Turn” and now “The Godwin”, a skill named after Australian gymnast Georgia Godwin this week.
The Olympian joined the select few with sports skills named after them when the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) added the move to its code of points, acknowledging the 26-year-old Queenslander after she created it and became the first person in history to perform it in competition.
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Godwin is not only in the revered company of high jump icon Dick Fosbury and football legend John Cruyff, but American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, who in October had a fifth skill named in her honour.
Godwin says it feels incredible to be recognised like Biles given the athletic feats of the 23-time world champion and her impact on mental health awareness.
“It’s actually quite special. Not many athletes can say they’ve got their name in the code of points, so to be up there with Simone Biles, [Australian gymnastics champion] Lauren Mitchell, [Australian gymnastics great] Mary-Anne Monckton — to be up there with those girls is an absolute honour,” Godwin told Wide World of Sports.
“That feat in itself [by Biles] is amazing [having five skills named after], because it’s difficult nowadays to come up with a skill in gymnastics because everything’s kind of already been done and it’s really hard to find a new path to go down to create these new skills. So for her to have five is just out of this world.”
The skills named after Biles, who won four Olympic gold medals at Rio 2016, are “The Biles on Floor”, “The Biles II on Floor”, “The Biles on Beam”, “The Biles on Vault” and “The Biles II on Vault”.
The US megastar’s decision to withdraw from competition during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to her mental health inspired Godwin, who made her Olympic debut in Japan.
“I feel like she’s done a lot for our sport. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when she put her mental health first, that showed the world that gymnastics isn’t just a physical sport. At the level it’s more mental than it is physical,” Godwin said.
“It also helped the young ones, showed the young ones that if you don’t feel well, if something doesn’t feel right, you need to speak up and you need to stand up for yourself.
“On top of that, she’s my age, she’s 26, which is older as a gymnast, so for her to still be creating new skills and doing what she’s doing at 26 is awesome. It just goes to show there’s a culture change, a culture shift in gymnastics and that we’re able to continue being happy, healthy and strong into our late 20s, early 30s.”
Biles said on Instagram during the Tokyo Olympics that it was “honestly petrifying” to attempt a skill while not having your mind and body in sync.
Her withdrawal was met with scathing criticism but also an outpouring of support.
“At the Olympics, at that level, if you are not feeling 100 per cent, you can put yourself into a lot of danger,” Godwin explained.
“Gymnastics is a very dangerous sport if it’s not done well and for her to make that step, especially on a big stage like the Olympics, I 100 per cent get around that.”
Godwin posted a video to Instagram of her performing “The Godwin” and wrote that it was “an absolute dream come true” to have it added to the code of points.
She described to Wide World of Sports “The Godwin” skill.
“It’s on the uneven bars and I start on the high bar in a handstand and I kind of do a forward front flip around the bar, back up to a handstand and do a full-turning pirouette straight after.
“So it’s got a few moving parts to it, but it’s the base explanation of it.”
She took up gymnastics at the age of three.
“When I was younger I had so much energy. I was flipping off couches, I was doing the Spiderman climbing thing between the door frames and Mum and Dad bought me a trampoline,” Godwin said.
“They wanted me to release my energy in a safe environment, so they enrolled me in gymnastics because it’s got the jumping, it’s got the climbing, it teaches you coordination, flexibility, perseverance, so they thought gymnastics would be a good fit for me, and 23 years later I’m still doing it.”
She cherishes the journey she’s taken since the days of climbing door frames like Spiderman.
“I am very proud of everything I’ve achieved, but I think on top of that everything that I’ve had to overcome to get to this point,” Godwin said.
“Gymnastics isn’t an easy career; you deal with injuries, you deal with selection and non-selection, there’s a few other things that go on. So for me to push through that and at 26 still love this sport, I’m still excited to wake up in the morning and go to training and challenge myself and push my body to its limits, I hope young me looks up and is proud of me.”
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