Name: Benjamin Goodrich
Sport: Judo
Discipline(s): Judo
Weight Class: 90kg
Classification: B3
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 220 lbs.
DOB: 11/26/1992
Birthplace: Saint Paul, Minn.
Hometown: St. Paul, Minn.
High School: Concordia Academy, Roseville, Minn. (2011)
College: University of Minnesota
Coach(es): Eddie Liddie
Paralympic Experience
  • Paralympic Teams: 2020 (Silver), 2016
World Championship Experience
  • World Championship Teams: 2018 (Fifth), 2014
  • Youth World Championship Teams: 2013 (Gold)
Other Career Highlights
  • Current World Ranking: No. 5
  • 3x Grand Prix Medalist
  • 2019 Parapan American Games Bronze Medalist
  • 3x Pan American Championships Medalist
More

A three-sport athlete in high school, Goodrich competed in wrestling, track and field and football, but excelled in wrestling where he was named the team MVP as a senior with a 35-3 record that season. Goodrich was introduced to judo through a physical education class at the University of Minnesota as a freshman in 2011. By 2013, Goodrich made his first international team, winning gold at the International Blind Sports Association World Youth and Student Games. Goodrich competed at the 2014 IBSA World Championships and went on to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. After placing fifth at the 2018 World Championships, Goodrich went on to win silver at the Tokyo Paralympic Games -- continuing a U.S. streak that has seen a member of Team USA reach the podium at every Paralympic Games since 1988. 

Goodrich, who earned degrees in finance and accounting from the University of Minnesota, worked as a sales tax technician for the City of Colorado Springs while training for the Tokyo Games. He now resides in Sweden where he trains along with his wife, Nicolina Pernheim. 

Competition Highlights:

2022:

  • Silver - IBSA Sao Paulo Grand Prix


    • 2021    :

  • Silver - Paralympic Games 
  • Seventh - IBSA Baku Grand Prix 


    • 2020    :

  • Silver - IBSA Pan American Championships  
  • Silver - German Open for the Visually Impaired
  • Bronze - IBSA Tbilisi World Cup 


    • 2019    :

  • Gold - German Open for the Visually Impaired 
  • Silver - Parapan American Games
  • Bronze - IBSA Tashkent Grand Prix 
  • Fifth - IBSA Paralympic Qualifier 


    • 2018    :

  • Gold - USA Judo Visually Impaired National Championships 
  • Silver - IBSA Pan American Championships 
  • Fifth - IBSA World Championships 
  • Seventh - IBSA Atyrau World Cup 
  • Seventh - IBSA Antalya World Cup


    • 2017    :

  • Gold - German Open for the Visually Impaired
  • Gold - USA Judo Visually Impaired National Championships
  • Fifth - IBSA Tashkent World Cup 


    • 2016    :

  • Gold - USA Judo Visually Impaired National Championships 


    • 2015    :

  • Gold - USA Judo Visually Impaired National Championships 
  • Silver - German Open for the Visually Impaired 
  • Fourth - Parapan American Games 


    • 2013    :

  • Gold - IBSA World Youth and Student Games