How did Hunter Woodhall lose his legs?

Hunter Woodhall is all geared up for his third appearance in the 2024 Paralympic Games in 2024. A native of Syracuse, Utah, United States, he was homeschooled until his fifth grade due to his birth defect. However, he grew up playing different sports before choosing track and field as his preferred sport.

Woodhall was the first double amputee to gain an athletic scholarship at the University of Arkansas and was a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks track and field team from 2018 to 2020. He earned First-Team All-American honors four times. Moreover, he was also declared a Paralympic medalist twice and an IPC Championship medalist four times throughout his college career.

Hunter Woodhall has become a three-time Paralympian, having participated in the event in 2016 and 2020. He earned a silver medal and a bronze medal in 2016, which led to him being declared as Male High School Track Athlete of the Year in 2016. Moreover, the mayor of Syracuse City also declared September 15 as “Hunter Woodhall Day”. He earned a bronze medal in 2020. Hunter Woodhall has also participated in the World Championships in 2015, 2017, 2023, and 2024, earning five silver medals and one bronze medal in his career so far.

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The reason behind Hunter Woodhall losing his legs

Hunter Woodhall was born with a condition called fibular hemimelia, a birth defect in which some or all fibular bones are missing, as per deseret.com. He had nine toes and his ankle was fused to his right leg, which prevented any kind of movement, as per travelandleisure.com. Despite the specialists focusing on corrective measures for the first six months of his life, it did not work out. However, his family Shriners Hospital for Children, when he was 10 months old and the doctors there suggested an amputation.

Hunter Woodhall’s parents, Steve and Barb eventually decided to amputate both his legs when he was 11 months, and finally, six months later, he was on prosthetics and learning to walk like other kids of his age as per travelandleisure.com.

Although he realized that he was disabled by the time he started attending public schools, his mother and two older brothers never allowed him to use it as an excuse, despite his older brothers teasing him sometimes about it. They always pushed him to do everyday things like riding a bike, as per travelandleisure.com. They motivated him by taking him to Vancouver for the Winter Paralympic Games and he eventually started running track and became an athlete. This led to him attending college, competing in the Paralympics and World Championships, winning medals, and finally, traveling the world.

Talking about his condition, Hunter Woodhall also revealed (via deseret.com):

"We all go through struggles. So whatever you're going through, just know that there's a plan in place. And if you're going through a hard time, it's important to know that you're not alone in your struggles."