It All Started Here: Tara Davis-Woodhall

Before winning medals on the world’s biggest stages, Tara Davis- Woodhall was an elite track and field athlete in high school.

The youngest of five children, Davis-Woodhall grew up in Frisco, Texas, before moving with her family to California at age 11. Her father, Ty Davis, was a standout track athlete at Texas A&M who coached his daughter through high school.

Davis-Woodhall attended Agoura High School, located northwest of Los Angeles, where she quickly established herself as one of the top prep athletes in the country. By the time Davis-Woodhall graduated, she had authored one of the most accomplished seasons in California high school track and field history.

As a senior, Davis-Woodhall broke the American junior indoor record in the long jump at the Dumanis Sports Group Prep Classic in Frisco, leaping 21 feet, 10 3/4 inches. Later that year, she delivered a historic performance at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state meet, setting a national high school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.83 seconds, breaking the state record in the long jump at 22 feet, 1 inch, and winning the triple jump with a mark of 42 feet, 11 3/4 inches.

One of the nation’s top talents, Davis-Woodhall began her collegiate career at the University of Georgia before transferring to the University of Texas. At the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, she set a world under-20 record in the 60-meter hurdles, further cementing her reputation as one of the sport’s brightest young stars. She consequently turned professional in 2021.

Davis-Woodhall made her Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, after recovering from multiple injuries including two broken vertebrae, and finished sixth in the long jump. From there, she has routinely finished atop podiums.

In the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Davis-Woodhall won the gold medal in the long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 2 1/2 inches. Later that season, she produced her career-best jump of 23 feet, 6 3/4 inches at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That mark ranks No. 6 on the all-time world list.

In addition to competing, Davis-Woodhall expanded her role in the sport in 2024 by joining Kansas State University’s track and field program as an assistant coach, balancing elite competition with mentoring responsibilities.

All of her years of development culminated at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Davis-Woodhall won the gold medal in the long jump with a winning mark of 23 feet, 3 1/2 inches.

Davis-Woodhall, now 26, has been married to fellow Olympian Hunter Woodhall since 2022, who won a gold medal in the men’s 400 meters at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. The two first met at a track meet in Idaho in 2017.

Jordan Morey is manager of communications and media relations at the NFHS.