Tara Davis-Woodhall and husband Hunter Woodhall get emotional as they reflect on their gold medals and send a message to their childhood self

Tara Davis-Woodhall and her husband Hunter Woodhall recently looked back on their experiences and talked about what message they would give to their younger self following their gold medal victories at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Both Tara and Hunter rose to prominence during the Paris Olympics for their celebration, with Hunter enthusiastically cheering for his wife throughout the event.

Entering the event as a prime contender for the top position, Tara defeated the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Malaika Mihambo to collect the gold medal in the long jump, registering a best jump of 7.10 m in her second Olympics appearance.

Meanwhile, Hunter Woodhall won his first-ever gold medal at the Paralympics in the 400m T62 event by recording a time of 46.36s. This was Hunter’s fourth overall medal, having previously won a silver in the 200m T44 in 2016, bronze in the 400m T44 in 2016, and bronze in the 400m T62 in 2020. Woodhall also added a bronze to his Paralympic medal tally in Paris in the mixed 4x100m relay, where the USA team secured the third position.

After both accomplished impressive performances at the quadrennial games, Tara and Hunter were asked on what message they would like to give to their younger self as the interviewer gave them two pictures of their childhood. To which Tara Davis-Woodhall responded (via Olympics Instagram handle) as she got emotional while speaking:

“I would just tell this little girl, never give up on your dreams. You're not dreaming too big. I know some people would like doubt on what I was doing or make fun of the way I looked, being such a strong, small girl, but there was always a reason for me to be fit and strong. I would tell her that we finally did it and you have a cute husband as well.”

While her husband, Hunter Woodhall, who was also caught being emotional, said:

“I would tell him to be proud of who he is and to be proud about being different and just to believe in himself.”

Difficulties that Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall faced in their career

Hunter Woodhall celebrates with his wife Tara Davis-Woodhall at Paris Paralympics. (Photo by Marco Mantovani/Getty Images)

While in seventh grade, Tara Davis-Woodhall had thoughts of quitting the sport as she initially couldn't make a mark against taller participants. However, she didn’t give up on herself and this eventually paid off. Tara also struggled with mental health issues and battled depression. Owing to this, she has spoken out on the issue in numerous interviews.

On the other hand, Hunter Woodhall had both legs amputated at just 11 months old due to fibular hemimelia, a condition in which children are born with a shortened or missing fibula, one of the two bones in the lower leg. Because of his condition, Hunter also faced bullying when he attended public school.