Georgia Godwin

8 x Commonwealth Games medalist (2 x Gold) in Gymnastics - Born 1997 from Southport, QLD.

In 2014, I was 16 years old when I won the Commonwealth Games selection event, but to my devastation, I wasn’t chosen for the team. At the time, I’d been told that 16 was the age when gymnasts peaked, so in my mind, if I couldn’t be selected while winning and at my “peak,” then I must just never be good enough. It was crushing. For days I sat with that disappointment. Angry, heartbroken, and questioning whether it was worth continuing. The dream I had worked so hard for suddenly felt out of reach, and I honestly thought my time in gymnastics might be over.

What pulled me through was the people around me. My coaches, teammates, and family reminded me that one setback didn’t define my whole career, even if it felt like it at the time. With their support, I built up my resilience and slowly turned that disappointment into determination. I trained harder, pushed myself further, and promised myself that I’d make it impossible to be left off another team. Two Commonwealth Games cycles later, I have eight medals to my name and am tied as the most decorated Australian female gymnast in Commonwealth Games history. Looking back, I know now that resilience isn’t about pretending things don’t hurt; it’s about facing the hurt, learning from it, and letting it spark the fire that carries you forward.