After 2 Paralympic berths, Hunter Woodhall looked forward to snagging his first gold at the French capital this time. But his bid for the hardware didn’t start as expected. At the T64 100m finals, the 25-year-old’s time of 10.96 seconds put him in the 6th position on the table. However, things took a drastic turn at the T62 400m finals. Shaking off the unsuccessful results, he stepped onto the track with renewed vigor. On September 6, the para-athlete could finally call himself a Paralympic Champion. But his track and field journey hasn’t always been the easiest.

Many have still perceived his success from a negative perspective. On episode 6 of Rising Phoenix: What Does It Take? Woodhall has a candid chat with legendary sprinters Michael Johnson and Matt Stutzman. The archer opens up about one of his experiences in 2017. The Paralympian had contested an able-bodied National Championship in archery. He believed this was “one of the better tournaments” he’d ever had. 

It was so good, he won! “And as soon as I did, there were able-bodied archers that actually filed complaints against me, saying that I was cheating.” Hunter Woodhall has faced similar accusations, and Stutzman wanted to hear his thoughts regarding the situation. “Yeah, I think it’s a big question, you know, and I would be silly to not understand that there are advantages to running on prosthetics.” But it also isn’t all sunshine and rainbows either. While unsure where the advantages and disadvantages balance out, he did have one issue.

People always assume that using prosthetics automatically means he’s cheating. “It’s like, I’m not cheating. I don’t, I don’t have a decision in this. This is not my choice. I didn’t choose to run on prosthetics. I didn’t choose to do any of this.” The para-athlete was born with a fused right ankle and suffered from fibular hemimelia. At the tender age of 11, he had to have both his legs amputated. “I’m just trying to compete. I’m trying to run,” he stated. The 25-year-old reiterates that if he happens to beat anyone, “that’s more of a problem for you than me.” 

The Paralympian doesn’t believe what he does could count as cheating. “Because cheating implies that you’re doing something that’s cutting steps out of this process and getting good, right?” He’s worked hard, focused on his recovery and nutrition, and is locked in. “I think it’s kind of silly that people would see somebody without legs, and their first thought is like, ‘Holy cow, that guy’s really cheating.’ You know what I mean?” His prosthetics help him achieve his goals.

Hunter Woodhall almost missed out on a competition because of this mistake

Before his extravagant show of display at the French capital, the double amputee faced the shocking circumstances of leaving his things unsupervised. While preparing for the National Junior Disability Championships in 2015, the para-athlete had somehow misplaced his prosthetic legs. Unable to find them on his own, he did the next best thing and posted about it on social media. Lo and behold, his prosthetics were shortly returned to him unharmed.

Even though the police were involved, the Paralympian still doesn’t know what really happened. Why are his prosthetics so important? The then-high schooler knew how his blades moved or behaved. And building that kind of rapport takes an incredibly long time, which he wouldn’t have had. “They kind of are part of me in a way,” he said after finding them. He eventually went on to win 5 Paralympic medals: 1 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze. Regardless of what people say, Hunter Woodhall is basking in glory.