HARRISON COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) — In a few months, some of the best athletes in the world will compete in the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

But before we see athletes go for gold in France, a Harrison County girl is headed to a different world stage this week, hoping her talents are on target.

Representing your country in the Olympics is the ultimate goal for an athlete, but everyone’s road to getting there is different.

For Anastacia Godman, a freshman at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia and member of the Harrison County High School class of 2023, her road is taking her to El Salvador for her next competition.

Starting Monday, Godman will compete in the weeklong 2024 Youth and Masters Pan Am Championships.

Performing well in a series of qualifying events across the U.S. led to Godman earning her spot.
Godman competed in the 2022 edition of the championship in Nova Scotia, so she’s not new to this stage.

But even still, it’s an opportunity she’s really excited for.

At 19, Godman has been competing in archery for much of her life and while humble, she knew pretty early on that archery was her sport.

“Right around sixth grade, one of my coaches was like, ‘Hey, you could really do good in this. You should maybe try shooting better quality bows,'” Godman recalled. “Probably my freshman year of high school, when, you know, everyone was talking about going on traveling teams for like baseball or basketball or football. And I’m like, Oh, cool. I’m leaving the country for an archery tournament. That’s pretty fun.”

Despite competing in countless competitions at her young age, Godman said the nerves are still there but that’s not necessarily a bad thing because she knows how hard she’s worked to get to the stage she’s on now.

While it’s under the category of archery, Godman competes specifically in the barebow discipline. Godman called this archery in its most pure and raw form.

Shooting from 70 meters, Godman shoots for the target with no scopes or stabilizers; she just has to trust her aim and take into account all that Mother Nature has to throw her way.

Godman has some memorable stories about her combating the elements.

“We shot outdoor nationals in Alabama, and the field we were on was a turf field,” Godman described. “It rained the full week we were there and the week prior. So the field we were on the turf had risen. It was like a water mat trying to walk and stand on it and it just kept going. So, you can imagine, like the wet wicking jerseys and either jeans or khakis or shorts, you know, whatever you wear your pants that soaked your whole, you’re just soaked to the core.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are several different types of bows for people to compete in.

Godman believes the more people who take an interest in archery as a whole, the more opportunities there’ll be for athletes like herself.

“I’d say as a springboard to the actual Olympics but for that, we need the actual Olympic community to recognize more bows as an Olympic sport, so until he can get that, then I guess to just keep pushing for more Pan Am Games and to keep pushing for more international widespread tournaments,” Godman explained.

Godman told FOX 56 that USA Archery doesn’t cover expenses like entry fees and plane tickets so she had to raise money to make this chance a reality.

You can find a link to her GoFundMe here.