At the Paris Games this summer, Tara Davis-Woodhall totally blew everyone away with a 7.10-meter jump that snagged her first Olympic gold. But honestly, the moment that captured everyone’s attention wasn’t just the jump, it was when she jumped straight into the arms of her husband, Hunter Woodhall. He’s a Paralympic sprinter who also won gold, making them this amazing golden power couple. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing to get there.

Back in 2020, the 25-year-old was fresh out of college and trying to get into the Diamond League. But she wasn’t allowed to compete. Even though she offered to cover her travel costs, they still said no. Tara remembers it clearly: “They wouldn’t even let me in.” She didn’t have an agent, and that made it harder for her to break through. As Tara recalled, she didn’t have the big medals or global recognition yet. But now? She is no longer staying quiet. The athlete has now become super outspoken, especially after Michael Johnson’s new Grandslam league, which excludes field events. She is even shutting down all the haters who doubted her once!

Tara reveals how negative comments fuel her motivation to succeed

Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall recently joined Noah Lyles and Rai Benjamin on the Beyond The Records Podcast for a candid conversation about their track and field journeys. When Benjamin asked if they had any advice for those who didn’t follow the traditional path, Tara shared some real wisdom. “Just keep going,” she said on the podcast. “There are so many doubters, so many people telling you ‘you can’t do this,’ or ‘you can’t do that.’” Tara made it clear: giving yourself a chance is key. “Yeah, give yourself a chance. That’s how we survived this year. Don’t give up on your dreams.”

The conversation took an interesting turn when Lyles asked, “How do you guys deal with the haters? Do you pay attention to them?” Tara was quick to respond. “Of course, I do,” she said before the 27-year-old pressed her further: “Do you read comments?” Tara smiled and shared, “It fuels me. It used to hurt me. It used to hurt so bad,” she confessed. It seems Tara used this as motivation to succeed!

Tara Davis-Woodhall then went on to talk about some of the worst comments that she has gotten. “When someone told me I wasn’t a threat on the international stage,” she said that hurt her. She also remembered one tough time in her life when she moved to Arkansas: “They said, “she’s never going to jump well again. She should just stick to social media because that’s her future.” That made her more hungry to show everyone that they were wrong. And it is a well-known fact that success is usually accompanied by both praise and criticism. With recent events such as Michael Johnson’s track-only league, the golden couple of track and field are in the spotlight once again.

Tara Davis-Woodhall slams Michael Johnson’s track-only vision

When Michael Johnson pitched his 2025 Grand Slam Track event, it seemed like a bold move: his goal was to “save track,” but not “track and field.” But Tara Davis-Woodhall wasn’t having it. As the Olympic long jump queen, she was not going to sit idle while field events, in particular, were being completely sidelined. She called it wrong and unfair. It became worse when Rai Benjamin also complained expressing his support for Tara Davis-Woodhall’s sentiments. In a short period of time, what began as a grand vision became a vigorous argument about what track and field required.

On the same podcast, Benjamin didn’t hold back. “It’s that gatekeeping, man,” he said, frustrated by the way things were being run. Tara agreed. But before that, Tara had left no room for ambiguity in stating that field events did not require someone, such as Michael Johnson, to try and save it. “The sport does not need you,” she said firmly, accusing Johnson of getting out at the right time when he could have actually helped during his playing years.

Tara wasn’t alone in speaking out. A few months back, Hunter Woodhall also chimed in. “Track and field’s doing just fine,” Hunter said. “Look at the recent Olympics,” he said. Their comments came after Johnson defended his track-only vision, claiming that field events were just too time-consuming for TV coverage. But Tara wasn’t buying it. She firmly stated that you can’t separate the “field” from “track and field” and expect the sport to remain strong. It’s clear: Tara Davis-Woodhall isn’t afraid to speak her mind: no bias, no filters, just pure truth.