ara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall are a track and field power couple, and now they are celebrating an Olympic gold medal win.
Davis-Woodhall won gold Thursday in the women’s long jump at the Paris Olympics, a comeback from her sixth place finish at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Photos of Davis-Woodhall and Woodhall — who will compete later this month in the Paralympic Games — celebrating her win quickly went viral.
“THESE ARE THE MOMENTS,” Team USA posted on Instagram alongside a photo of Davis-Woodhall hugging Woodhall in the stands at the Stade de France.
Woodhall paid tribute to his wife Friday on Instagram, captioning a photo of the couple in front of the Eiffel Tower, “No words to describe how proud of you I am. No luck involved, you earned this. Discipline, work ethic, and grit. These are the moments and this is your moment. Soak it in”
The Paris Olympics mark the second Olympics together for the couple, who wed in 2022.
Woodhall and Davis-Woodhall’s love story began, appropriately enough, at a track meet when they were both seniors in high school, Davis in California and Woodhall in Utah.
“I was warming up and I spotted Hunter and I was like, ‘Oh, that guy is cute,'” Davis-Woodhall previously told “Good Morning America” of their 2017 meeting at a track meet in Idaho. “I didn’t know who he was, but I went up to him as he was coming off the track after his race and gave him a hug and we started talking.”
The two stayed in touch and started dating several months later, but faced the obstacle of a long-distance relationship again when they each pursued their track and field careers in college.
Davis-Woodhall first joined the track and field team at the University of Georgia, and then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where she finished her college career in 2021.
Woodhall competed in track at the University of Arkansas, where he made history as the first double-amputee to get a Division I track and field scholarship.
Born with fibular hemimelia, in which the fibula, a bone in his lower legs, never formed, Woodhall had both legs amputated below the knee at 11 months old.
After earning silver and bronze medals at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Woodhall again won a second bronze medal at the delayed 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in the men’s 400-meter T62 race.
Woodhall is scheduled to compete in multiple track races when the Paralympics kick off in Paris on Aug. 28.
The sprinter told Team USA that he and Davis-Woodhall owe their success, in part, to the support they give each other.
“I definitely don’t think either of us would be at the level we’re at without the level of support that we provide for each other, as well as the team that surrounds us,” Woodhall said. “As far as the success, it’s super motivating because we do the same things every day — it’s just a vote of confidence knowing that we’re doing the right things together.”
More about Hunter Woodhall
Woodhall is a double amputee runner with three medals in the past two Paralympics – and designs on earning his first gold medal at this month’s 2024 Paralympics in Paris. After Davis-Woodhall made headlines in Paris, here’s what else you should know about Woodhall’s inspirational story and a marriage Team USA’s website declared to be “track and field’s power couple.”
Where is Hunter Woodhall from?
Woodhall was born in Cartersville, Georgia because of his father’s military service, but grew up in Syracuse, Utah.
How did Hunter Woodhall lose his legs?
Woodhall, 25, was born in 1999 with a congenital birth defect called fibular hemimelia in which the fibula bones are either partially or completely missing. When Woodhall was 11 months old, his parents made the decision to amputate both of his legs in order to improve his quality of life long term.
Where did Hunter Woodhall go to college?
Woodhall broke Utah high school state records running on carbon fiber blades similar to the ones made famous by South African Oscar Pistorius at the 2012 Olympics. He then became the first double amputee to earn a Division-I track and field scholarship when he enrolled at Arkansas ahead of the 2017-18 school year. Woodhall finished his career at Arkansas as a four-time, first team all-American competing against non-disabled runners in the 4×400-meter relay.
“I wasn’t going to be seen as just someone with a disability,” he told Sports Illustrated in 2017. “I was going to be seen as an athlete. I knew that’s the only way I was going to change that perception was to become the best athlete possible, to become the most competitive athlete.”
Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall relationship, explained
Woodhall and Davis initially met at a 2017 track meet in Idaho, according to a YouTube video they put together explaining the origins of their relationship. They started dating by the end of their senior year of high school.
They continued in a long-distance relationship while Woodhall ran at Arkansas and Davis-Woodhall was at Georgia and Texas on a track and field scholarship. They both competed in Tokyo in 2021. Davis finished sixth in the long jump at the Olympics, while Woodhall took home a bronze medal in the 400m at the Paralympics.
The couple got engaged in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in September 2021 and got married in McKinney, Texas on Oct. 16, 2022, according to People.
“I want people to know we’re just two normal people,” Woodhall said in an interview with Archewell, the official website of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “We bring a lot of diversity into our relationship, and we want to be really transparent about that. Tara is a woman of color. I have a disability. We want people to know that whoever you are, whatever situation you’re in … it’s okay and that’s what makes you special and unique.”
Woodhall also posted a touching message to his wife on Instagram ahead of the long jump competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Tomorrow you contend for the Olympic Title,” he wrote. “I’m so humbled by you. You have battled through so much just to give yourself a chance. You’ve inspired so many with your authenticity. Showing it’s okay to struggle, it’s okay to not always be okay. Through everything you continued to fight for your dream. No one has worked harder. No one has been more disciplined. You inspire me every day to be great. Tomorrow is your moment. Enjoy every bit of it. You are ready.”
Hunter Woodhall’s Paralympics accomplishments
Woodhall won a silver medal in the 200m T44 and a bronze medal in the 400m T44 at the 2016 Paralympics while still in high school. He followed it up with another bronze medal in the 400m T62 at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. He also has six world championship medals to his credit.
Woodhall is scheduled to compete in the 100m and 400m T 62 events at the 2024 Paralympics, which are set to begin on Aug. 28 in Paris. He set personal bests in both races at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials last month in Miramar, Florida.
