US long jump star Tara Davis-Woodhall stretched to his first Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics in August. About Davis-Woodhall and her husband of Hunter Woodhall the captured photos became popular on social media.
A month later, it was Hunter Woodhall’s turn to achieve his first Paralympic gold. He ran to gold in the men’s T62 class 400 meters in Paris on Friday. The athletes of the paraclass in question do not have legs, but prostheses below the knees.
Born in 1999, Woodhall had deformities in his legs as a child. They had to be amputated from the knees down. Doctors said Woodhall would never walk.
– They said I would never walk. Despite that, I learned to run, says Woodhall on his Instagram account.
He started para sports in the fifth grade. Woodhall won Paralympic medals for the first time in 2016 in Rio when he was only 17 years old. The American was second in 200 meters and third in 400 meters.
Three years ago in Tokyo, Woodhall was in the same place in the circuit round, but now in Paris the medal became gold in one shot.
in Tampere
Woodhall and Woodhall-Davis have been together since 2017. The couple got married in 2022.
According to NBC, the couple’s warm embrace at the Paris Olympics has garnered millions of views on social media. Now Davis-Woodhall is supporting her husband in Paris.
Tara Davis-Woodhall, born in 1999, has also had a reputation as a talented track and field athlete for a long time. In 2018, he competed in Tampere’s Ratina for the Under-20 World Championships.
She was third in the women’s long race. Serbian Ivana Spanovic admired Davis-Woodhall has become the best female long jumper in the world this year.
At the beginning of the year, the American won his first gold medal at the World Championships. During the reign, he also broke his current record of 718.
Davis-Woodhall told Urheilu six years ago in Tampere that she and Hunter Woodhall hold exercises for children who do not have their own legs or arms, for example.
– He knows that I love children, and I once went with him to guide. I realized that this is awesome. Now I want to focus on it even more, Davis-Woodhall said at the time.
A proud husband
Woodhall and Davis-Woodhall are known as a couple, with both parties encouraging each other to perform better.
– It was so incredible, surreal. I am so proud. I’ve never wanted something so much for anyone else, Woodhall said at the Olympics about his reaction to his wife’s first Olympic gold.
Woodhall says that the two have been trying to do things all year for Olympic success.
– This is why we train. Nothing can be guaranteed in sports, and in athletics, for example, anything can happen. So when you actually succeed, it’s a big relief. It was a really special moment, Woodhall refers to the Davis-Woodhall Olympic gold.
The couple exercises together, whether it’s a workout in the gym or track workouts. They also have a popular YouTube channel together, where they also talk about their relationship.
Woodhall has said that the previous visit to Paris may also have been an advantage when it came to the Paralympics. He was already able to test how his body adapts to the different time zone in Europe.
Woodhall got to the grain at the same time from the track of the Stade France stadium.
– I believe that visualization was a huge benefit. I saw how everything works. I saw the stadium, the net court. I got to review everything in person.
Bullying
Woodhall’s father was in the Air Force. Woodhall was first home schooled with his older brothers. When Woodhall went to public school in the fifth grade, he faced bullying. From the beginning, the parents had taught their sons the importance of exercise, which gave Woodhall strength during the difficult school years.
Eventually, he discovered athletics.
– It was just me facing the clock. I found excitement in that.
Woodhall didn’t think he was particularly gifted as a child, but he trusted the process.
– It took me to where I am now.