“Once I put the blade on, I fell in love. I always tell people, when I run, I feel like I have 2 feet again,” Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhall had said. Born with fibular hemimelia, a condition in which the fibula bones in Hunter’s lower legs never formed, his parents had to decide to amputate both his legs below the knee when he was just 11 months old. So, prosthetics have been a game-changer for Hunter. But it is true the other way around as well. If they do not sit well and start malfunctioning, that can be equally disastrous. Remember what happened in the 2023 World Championships?

With the tag of the first double amputee to receive a Division I track and field scholarship, Hunter headed to Paris for his third world championships in July 2023. He opened the meet by finishing seventh in the 100-meter T64. But 5 days later, he was forced to withdraw from his signature event, the 400-meter T62, due to a malfunctioning prosthetic. What happened?

Track athletes with prosthetics are required to keep their legs under a particular height. Woodhall got measured before worlds and found out that he was one centimeter taller than the permissible limit. New holes were drilled into his running blades, but the drilling stripped a hole that connected the back of his blade and made it loose. Because of this, the blade started to slide back and forth during warmups before 400, an event in which he had medaled at each of his four prior global championships. Despite trying everything, the blade was too loose. “At that point, it was over,” Woodhall said. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run, and there’s no fixing my leg.” But here is the twist.

Hunter took full responsibility for his malfunctioning blade. He said he knew it wasn’t in perfect condition and that he procrastinated on fixing it. “I just kind of had to sit there and understand that was the reality of the situation, because of me not doing the right things leading up to that meet and preparing,” he said. Indeed, he had to pay the price of his negligence the hard way. So looks like he is never going to take a chance when it comes to his prosthetics, which is why he just made a significant purchase lately.

On February 24, Hunter Woodhall uploaded a vlog on his YouTube channel Tara and Hunter, titled “Making New Legs For Running. How It’s Made.” The video starts with the Paralympian declaring, “I’m here in Greenwood, Arkansas. And I’m getting new running blades today, so that’s pretty exciting.” He then revealed the reason – his last ones were ‘busted.’ The camera then zooms into Hunter Woodhall’s old blades.

he goes on to describe its wrecked condition, “Yeah, so the whole back of the socket was cracking. And just the right amount of force in this whole plate, it just busts off. So that’s why I’m here with my prosthetist, so I don’t bust prematurely with this.” He then jokes while his prosthetist works in the lab, “He’s cooking up some legs.” He’s surely one humorous, positive guy!

Well, every product comes with a shelf life that’s subject to wear and tear. And so are prosthetics. And particularly, the ones made for sprint runners. Because they are different and stiffer than those required for long-distance running. Since that’s how the runners get the fast push-off needed for their categories.

Given all this, it looks like Hunter Woodhall perhaps didn’t want to compromise on the quality of his prosthetics. Thus, even though a new pair may have cost him approximately $20,000 (the average cost for most below-the-knee prosthetics start), he came to Van Der Watt in Greenwood, Arkansas to get them made. Now the question may arise: why this shop?

Hunter Woodhall and the only prosthetist he trusts

Hunter Woodhall wholeheartedly trusted the prosthetist since 2014. He shares a rather important equation with him. Well, making a prosthetic is no plain sailing task. It takes nearly two weeks to complete the entire fitting, testing, making, etc. And there are a lot of technical specifications that go behind it. Given his admission, it’s clear Hunter Woodhall places his trust solely in Francois Van Der Watt. Woodhall has known him since 2014 because Francois was the official prosthetist for Team USA going into Worlds in 2015.

Since then, Hunter Woodhall has had great faith in him. In a 2020 interview, he’d said, “He’s [Francois] always been a really good friend of mine, so just to be able to have that access to someone who you trust working on one of the most integral parts of racing, that’s an extreme advantage.” 

Even today, in the vlog, he openly endorsed Francois’ skills. Hunter Woodhall said, “This is the magic of prosthetics right here. This is Van Der Watt in Greenwood, Arkansas. They also have an office in Barling. So if you need anything done in the prosthetic, orthotic world, you should hit them up. Best in the business. That’s why I’m here. Francois is the man. Yeah. I’ve been working with Francois since I was 15 years old.” Indeed, the prosthetics can make or break a race for him. After the 2023 World Championships experience, he surely does not want to squander with that.