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Hunter Woodhall, Nikki Hiltz, and others shared heartwarming reactions to reigning Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall's mental health journey. She recently opened up about her struggles on World Mental Health Day.
The 25-year-old American standout had a remarkable 2024 season where she won gold at the World Indoor Championships held in March in Glasgow's Commonwealth Arena. She then went on to compete in her second Summer Games this year in Paris and earned the first Olympic title of her career. Davis-Woodhall dethroned Germany's defending champion, Malaika Mihambo, to win the gold with a leap of 7.10 m in her fourth attempt.
After wrapping up the 2024 season, Tara Davis-Woodhall is now inspiring others by sharing her mental health journey on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, celebrated on Thursday, October 10. The Texas native took to her Instagram and opened up about her experiences, urging people not to hesitate in discussing their mental health. She also shared some valuable tips to help along the way.
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"Today is world mental health day. Mental health to me is so important. I’ve dealt with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts. If you’re dealing with this do not be afraid to reach out for help. It is not a shame to be dealing with these unfamiliar emotions. Our brains can create chaos that sometimes we don’t know how to manage and that’s okay," she wrote in the caption.
"Some tips to help: talk to someone, self-care, and journaling. Journaling has saved my life. Writing things down to get it out of your head. Things will get better with time. I know it may seem like you are not stuck and there’s no way out but there’s more options out there I promise," she added.
In response to her post, her husband Hunter Woodhall chimed in with a red heart emoji, while the American middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz wrote:
"You are never alone. Love you so much friend."
Heptathlete Chari Hawkins also showed her support by dropping red heart emojis in the comments.
When Tara Davis-Woodhall discussed the beginning of her mental health struggles - "They all came later, when I went to college"
In 2022, Tara Davis-Woodhall opened up about the origins of her mental health issues with World Athletics. Davis-Woodhall explained that she never experienced it in the initial stages of her career but that it all came later when she joined college.
"My Dad used to always tell me track was 90% mental and 10% physical," she said. At the time I was young, about 12, and I never really understood what he meant. I never had any mental struggles. They all came later – when I went to college."
When asked about the reasons behind it all, she responded:
"Many reasons. Part of it had to do with pressure from coaches and family, and just life itself."
Tara Davis-Woodhall also mentioned that a series of consecutive injuries also led her to question her athletic career.
