He was selected for 1993 Pan Pacific Championships in Kobe, Japan, but was forced to withdraw with glandular fever.

He defied medical experts who claimed that he would never swim competitively again in 1994, and won a silver medal in the 200-metre butterfly at the 1995 Pan Pacific Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.

However, he succumbed to pressure, executing poor turns, finishing with a bronze medal behind Denis Pankratov of Russia and Tom Malchow of the United States.

In 1998, Goodman went to the World Swimming Championships in Perth, but overbalanced and fell into the pool during the final.

Devastated, he quit swimming, but resumed training in 1999 in order to attempt to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.