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Tara Davis-Woodhall defended her controversial words directed at former American sprinter and Grand Slam Track founder Michael Johnson. The Olympic long jumper had heavily criticized Johnson for snubbing field events from his league and claiming he couldn't 'save' them.
Johnson launched Grand Slam Track last season and the league will offer the highest prize purse in the history of the sport when it debuts in 2025. However, the former 200m world record holder didn't include field events in the league. He explained his reasons in an interview with the BBC last week, saying:
"Grand Slam Track is track, that is what we're doing. I am going to save what I think I can save; I think I can save track, I don't think I can save track and field."
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His comments didn't sit well with Davis-Woodhall and her husband Hunter Woodhall, who claimed that the 57-year-old was 'ruining' the sport. The couple were heavily criticized online afterward for their seemingly disrespectful tone but Davis-Woodhall is standing by her words.
The 25-year-old suggested that her anger towards Johnson wasn't because of money, rather she cared about the sport. In a series of messages on the social media platform Threads, she wrote:
"The internet is wild. The haters are real. People always think it’s about money. It’s about authenticity of the sport. Yall acting like this league is helping the athletes who aren’t getting paid."
She also pointed out that Grand Slam Track wasn't helping athletes who were not getting paid before the league's arrival, therefore Johnson's claims of saving track were also contentious.
The Olympic champion further addressed allegations of creating a gap between field and track, saying:
"I’m just trying to bring eyes to the sport. Not separate it," Tara Davis-Woodhall added.
While Davis-Woodhall didn't take any direct swipes at Johnson, the Paris Olympics gold medalist claimed she would never pick a fight again 'with a grown man'.
"Ew I would never pick a fight with a grown man," she wrote.
Tara Davis-Woodhall and her husband Hunter Woodhall named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List
Tara Davis-Woodhall and her husband Hunter Woodhall were named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for 2025 as athlete creators. The couple started their content creation journey in their first year of dating in 2017 and have since been regularly documenting their life on YouTube and Instagram.
The couple have a shared account on both social media platforms and boast over 900k subscribers on YouTube and 660k followers on Instagram.
Earlier this year, Tara Davis-Woodhall won her maiden gold medal at the Paris Olympics in the women's long jump a month before her husband Hunter won his first Paralympic gold at the same venue.
