Olympic and Paralympic power couple Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall captured hearts online during the Paris Olympics. After Tara secured her first gold medal in the long jump at the Games, the couple’s heartfelt celebration quickly gained attention. A video of Hunter’s surprise welcome home for Tara also went viral.
This year has been the most successful for Tara on the track. When she qualified for the Tokyo Games in 2020, she finished sixth in the long jump. But at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, this year, she won gold before doing the same in Paris.
“He’s gone through it all with me,” Tara said of her husband’s support, according to NBC News.
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It is now her husband’s turn to compete for gold at the Paralympics in Paris, which begin on Wednesday. Hunter will compete in the men’s 100-meter T64 and the 400-meter T62. Athletes in T61-64 events are “competing with prosthesis affected by limb deficiency and leg length difference,” as noted by World Para Athletics.
“I’m feeling really good, mentally and physically,” Woodhall told NBC News. “Watching Tara in Paris was a really great visualization. So I’m prepared.”
Hunter has won three medals in the past. He took home a silver in Rio in 2016 in the 200-meter T44 and a bronze in the 400-meter T44. In Tokyo, he won another bronze in the 400-meter T62. Hunter is hoping to take his first gold, inspired by his wife.
The couple’s goals are however bigger than the number of medals won.
“We want to get people’s eyes on long jump, and we want to get people to care about the Paralympics,” Hunter said, according to Scripps News Kansas City.
“I know they are superstars that transcend track and field, but they’re great people at their core and they maintain who they are,” the couple’s coach, Travis Geopfert, said.
The couple, who both competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, first met during a high school track meet.
According to Good Morning America, they were both seniors at the time. On the Instagram account “The Way We Met,” Tara recalled noticing Hunter as he prepared for the 400-meter race while she warmed up for the hurdles. She thought, “Oooh, who’s that?”—unaware that he had prosthetic legs, as he was wearing sweatpants.
Hunter was born with fibular hemimelia, a condition that led his parents to decide on the amputation of his legs when he was just 11 months old. Initially using prosthetic legs, he eventually transitioned to blades to pursue his passion for running.
Tara admitted that she found herself staring at him before realizing she might seem awkward. Meanwhile, Hunter had his eye on Tara, telling his friend, “Damn, that girl is fine. I’m going to marry her.” He even saved a text he sent to his best friend, Tucker, saying, “This is the girl I’m going to marry.”
The following day, after watching Hunter win the 400-meter race, Tara approached him and said, “I just need a hug,” embracing him as he caught his breath. Hunter excitedly told Tucker, “Dude, Tara Davis just came up to me and gave me a hug.” The two struck up a conversation as they received their medals—Hunter for the 400 meters, and Tara for the long jump and hurdles—before returning to their respective hometowns.
Tara made the first move on social media, following Hunter on Instagram. When he followed back, she sent him a direct message, joking, “Past your bedtime!” to which Hunter replied, “Been waiting on this DM, sorry.”
Though separated by distance—Tara from California and Hunter from Utah—their relationship blossomed. Tara later joined the University of Georgia track and field team before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her undergraduate studies in 2021.
Not long after the Tokyo Olympics, in September 2021, Hunter proposed to Tara. The couple married in October 2022 in McKinney, Texas.
