Tara Davis-Woodhall (/ˈtɑːrə/ TAR-ə; born May 20, 1999)[2] is an American track and field athlete. She won a gold medal in women's long jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics and also a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships. In 2017, she set the American junior women's record in the indoor long jump, and placed 6th in the women's long jump final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Davis-Woodhall is also a hurdler.
 Davis-Woodhall in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Tara Davis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Tara Davis-Woodhall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 20, 1999[1] Mesquite, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 120 lb (54 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 100 m hurdles, long jump | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Texas Longhorns (2019–2021)
Georgia Bulldogs (2017–2018) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals |
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| Personal bests |
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Medal record
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Early life
editDavis-Woodhall was born in Mesquite, Texas to parents Ty and Rayshon Davis.[3] Her father is a former track and field athlete at Texas A&M.[3] She is the youngest of five children.[4]
High school
editDavis-Woodhall broke the American junior record for indoor long jump at the Dumanis Sports Group Prep Classic in Frisco, Texas on February 11, 2017, with a distance of 6.68 m (21 ft 10+3⁄4 in).[5]
Later in the year, running for Agoura High School, she won three events at the CIF California State Meet. Her win in the 100 meters hurdles in 12.83 beat the National high school record, but it was aided by a +3.7 mps wind. Her mark is the best under all conditions in history. She also set the state record in the long jump. Her 22 ft 1 in (6.73 m) beat the 24-year-old record by Olympian Marion Jones, who at the time jumped for another Marmonte League school, Thousand Oaks High School.[6] A few weeks earlier, she had run the hurdles in 12.89 at the Ventura County meet. It was the second fastest wind legal race in history. She was selected Ventura County Track and Field Athlete of the Year.[7]
After graduating high school, she attended the University of Georgia where she was coached by Petros Kyprianou.[8]
College
editAs a University of Georgia student athlete, Davis-Woodhall broke Klaudia Siciarz's world under-20 record in the 60 m hurdles with a time of 7.98 seconds, during the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. In the same meet, she came 3rd in the long jump, completing a University of Georgia sweep. She finished behind Keturah Orji and Kate Hall.
After a season at Georgia, she transferred to the University of Texas. She did not get to compete until the 2019–20 track season, because of transfer rules. She went on to appeal her old coach’s decision to hold her from being released from the team.[9]
In 2021, Davis-Woodhall jumped 7.14 meters at the Texas Relays in Austin to set the collegiate record.[10] The jump placed her in the top 30 of all time.[11]
Career
editDavis-Woodhall qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics by jumping 7.04 meters to place second at the Olympic Trials in June 2021.[12] She placed sixth in the women's long jump at the Olympic final, with a best distance jumped of 6.84 meters.[13][14]
Davis-Woodhall won the national long jumping title at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque in February 2023, with a distance of 6.99 meters. She was later stripped of the title after a urine sample she submitted at the event showed a cannabis metabolite level above the allowed limit. She received a reduced suspension of one month after completing a substance abuse treatment program.[15][16]
Davis-Woodhall won a silver medal in the women's long jump at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, with a distance of 6.91 meters.[17][18]
She competed at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships where she won a gold medal in the long jump with a distance of 7.07m.[19]
She currently serves as an assistant coach for Kansas State University Track and Field team.[20]
Davis-Woodhall won the gold medal in the long jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics with a distance of 7.10 meters.[21] She celebrated with her husband, Hunter Woodhall, who went on to win a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[22]
She was nominated for her first World Athletics Awards because of her gold medals accomplishment in the 2024 sports season.[23]
Achievements
editInternational competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | World Youth Championships | Cali, Colombia | 1st | Long jump | 6.41 m | PB |
| 9th | Triple jump | 12.65 m | ||||
| 2017 | Pan American U20 Championships | Trujillo, Peru | 1st | Long jump | 6.51 m | |
| 2nd | 100 m hurdles | 13.42 | ||||
| 1st | 4 x 100 m relay | 44.07 | ||||
| 2018 | World U20 Championships | Tampere, Finland | 3rd | Long jump | 6.36 m | |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 6th | Long jump | 6.84 m | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | Long jump | 6.91 m | |
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 1st | Long jump | 7.07 m | |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 1st | Long jump | 7.10 m |
Personal life
editDavis-Woodhall married Paralympian Hunter Woodhall on October 16, 2022, having first met in 2017.[24] They operate a YouTube channel together.[13][25]
External links
edit
References
edit- ^ a b "Tara Davis". teamusa.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "DAVIS-WOODHALL Tara". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ a b "Tara Davis-Woodhall bio: Age, height, hometown, family, fun facts | NBC Olympics". www.nbcolympics.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ^ "Tara Davis-Woodhall". www.teamusa.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ^ "Tara Davis sets national indoor long jump record, and her reaction is priceless". February 11, 2017.
- ^ "Agoura's Tara Davis wins three titles at state track championships". Los Angeles Times. June 4, 2017.
- ^ Eads, Derry. "Agoura's Tara Davis is The Star's Girls Track Athlete of the Year". Ventura County Star.
- ^ "College Signing: Tara Davis Class of 2017". MileSplit United States.
- ^ "Tara Davis Transfers To Texas, Will Sit Out Season". www.flotrack.org. January 9, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "COLLEGIATE RECORD: Tara Davis Sets Outdoor LJ Standard ::: USTFCCCA".
- ^ "Women's long jump". www.alltime-athletics.com.
- ^ "Track & Field's Davis punches ticket to Tokyo at U.S. Olympic Trials". The University of Texas at Austin Athletics. June 6, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Treisman, Rachel (August 27, 2021). "Meet Olympic Power Couple Hunter Woodhall And Tara Davis". NPR. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ Claybourn, David (August 3, 2021). "Tara Davis finishes sixth in long jump at Tokyo Olympics". Herald-Banner. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Gonzalez, Isabel (April 28, 2023). "US long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall stripped of national title, suspended a month after positive cannabis test". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "Track & Field Athlete Tara Davis-Woodhall Accepts Sanction for Anti-Doping Rule Violation". usada.org. April 25, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "Davis-Woodhall wins first Championships medal at the World Athletics Championships". texassports.com. August 20, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ^ "Tara Davis-Woodhall takes second in the women's long jump at world championship". Herald-Banner. August 22, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ^ Turnbull, Simon (March 3, 2024). "Davis-Woodhall secures world indoor long jump crown in style". World Athletics. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ @KStateTFXC (August 2, 2024). "Join us in welcoming our new TFXC staff members! 😼" (Tweet). Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Tara Davis-Woodhall won gold at the Paris Olympics — now it's her husband's turn". NBC News. August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
- ^ Lev, Jacob (August 6, 2024). "Paralympian Hunter Woodhall joins wife as a gold medal winner this summer in Paris". CNN. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ Sports, Pulse (October 15, 2024). "Tara Davis-Woodhall nominated for first World Athletics Awards following 2024 season's exploits". Pulse Sports Nigeria. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ Strohm, Emily (October 16, 2022). "Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis Are Married in Fairytale Ceremony: 'Everything We Dreamed'". People. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
- ^ Adams, Emily (July 15, 2021). "Olympic couple Tara Davis and Hunter Woodhall define a generation of social-savvy athletes". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2023.