After Nike Controversy Last Month, Tara Davis-Woodhall Battles Mental Attacks on Her ‘Man-Like’ Appearance

American track and field standout Tara Davis-Woodhall has encountered difficulties both on and off the track during her career. In the women’s long jump at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, she took home a silver medal. Despite her achievements, Davis-Woodhall has frequently faced criticism. Just weeks after a recent dispute with Nike regarding the official Olympic high-tech kit, she has opened up about the mental attacks directed at her due to her masculine appearance.

After posting a video of herself performing athletics on Instagram, Davis-Woodhall received negative feedback from her fans. Deciding not to stay mum and draw focus towards the online flak, the 2020 Summer Olympics finalist expressed her thoughts on the hate comments. When one social media user called her “a man.” Davis-Woodhall fearlessly responded, writing, “These comments used to hurt but now I love them. Women have muscles too idiots. If I was a man I hope I’d be jumping 8.70M + but I’m not 7M+ would do.”

Davis Woodhall posted the same video in the following story along with another fan remark that said, “You so so beautiful I can barely see your, mustache.” Taking pride in her looks, Davis-Woodhall wrote, “Damn time for a laser touch up then… At least I’m beautiful ✨”. The track and field athlete’s response definitely raises questions about the conventional standards of femininity and beauty.

Tara Davis’s mental struggles, triggered by the comments she faced due to her appearance, date back to her time in Agoura High School, followed by the University of Georgia. Davis Woodhall never lacked skill, but she had some painful injuries. She was ridiculed by her peers as a result of these injuries, and her coach even lost faith in her. To protect herself from being taunted, she even covered herself in sweatshirts. Despite these obstacles, Davis-Woodhall has resisted letting other people’s opinions of her define who she is. Rather, she has proudly owned her physical appearance while showing off her unusual athletic abilities.

Hitting strong following a challenging April month, Davis-Woodhall recorded her second 7m+ jump at the Arkansas Twilight recently, clearing 7.16m. She also made a grand announcement about her flawless redemption while leaning on the wall and achieving a new collegiate indoor record of 6.93 meters.

Davis-Woodhall’s scathing reaction to Nike

Amid the recent Nike controversy where athletes and critics alike raised concerns over the US official Olympic uniform for the 2024 Paris Games, Davis-Woodhall made a smart leap to express her displeasure. “Can we do a second look?” Davis Woodhall asked on her X account, in response to Nike referring to their post as a “first look”. Her sardonic callout clearly showed the Olympian was out of step with what Nike was marketing as a high-tech outfit. Thus, this raised more discussions across the track and field community.

At the launch event, Nike still presented a completely different interpretation of their designs. Representatives discussed the newest equipment and said that Nike used cutting-edge body scanning and motion-capturing technologies. These enabled them to create a snug fit that even the Paralympic competitors would find comfortable. Red and blue was the color scheme selected for Team USA.

Nike’s vice president Janet Nichol reflected on the same stating, “On the apparel side, why it’s a game-changer for us, is because we’ve now been able to take athlete insights, along with data, and use that algorithm to create something that allows us to get to a level of specificity, fidelity, and accuracy that we’ve never been able to do before.” Indeed, Woodhall and Nike may have very different opinions. The American athlete seemed to be dealing with more than just discussion.