Olympic champion jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall has taken charge as the assistant track and field coach at the Kansas State University. The 25-year-old long jumper shared glimpses of her first day at the job on Instagram.
Davis-Woodhall uploaded a video of her interaction with aspiring athletes at an indoor track at Kansas State University. She uploaded the video as her Instagram story with the caption:
"Coach 'T' in the house!"
Davis-Woodhall had accepted the offer of an assistant track and field job at the insistence of her long-time coach Travis Geopfert, who had also joined the university as the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. In an interview after the Paris Olympics, the American long jumper shared why she accepted the offer.
"I wanted to put something out there so far that no one could touch, and that's the energy I was channeling all season ," said Davis-Woodhall.
Davis-Woodhall also mentioned that she wanted to make a difference with her job as the assistant coach, aiming to make the aspiring athletes feel like a part of the 'family'.
"I'm hoping that I could bring an older sister to these athletes,” added the American long jumper. “I am going to coach, but I also want to be a mentor for them.”
Tara Davis Woodhall became the Olympic champion in the women's long jump at the Paris Olympics.
Tara Davis-Woodhall on her preparations for the 2025 season
Tara Davis-Woodhall experienced an outstanding athletic season this year. Apart from winning the gold medal at the World Indoor Championships held in Glasgow, the 25-year-old long jumper defied expectations as she won the Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games.
The American jumper is now looking forward to the upcoming athletic season with great fervor. She posted on her Threads account:
"Day 1 of 2025 szn…. Let it be known a new Tara has emerged and she’s ready for war 🤝🏽"
Davis-Woodhall recorded her best jump of 7.18m this year. In the upcoming season, she will be aiming to better her mark, apart from winning the coveted World Championship title in the women's long jump. She had come close at the Budapest World Championships in 2023 but missed the gold medal by 23 centimeters.
Yet, her jump of 6.91m was more than enough to get a silver medal, as Ivana Vuleta of Serbia and Alina Rotaru-Kottmann of Romania won the gold and the bronze medal, respectively. At the World Championships in Tokyo next year, Davis-Woodhall will aim to reclaim the gold medal that slipped from her hands at Budapest in 2023.