“Hard For Me”: Tara Davis-Woodhall Opens Up On Struggles After Cleaning Her Hands In Nike ‘Outfit’ Controversy

Tara Davis-Woodhall is young, dynamic and so much more. The track and field realm needs her as much as she needs it. Her personal bests in the 100m hurdles and long jump disciplines, 12.61s and 7.14m speak volumes about her ability to dominate the proceedings on her day. Starting at a young age, Woodhall boasts of clinching gold in the Pan American Junior Championships, World Youth Championships, and World Indoor Championships. 

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old is still in search of her maiden Olympic triumph. But her 6th position finish at the Tokyo Olympics was nothing short of impressive. However, Tara Davis-Woodhall’s journey was never a bed of roses. She had her share of pain. While she’s on a roll recently with her impressive performances, she also deemed it fit, pun intended to lend her credence to the controversial Nike Paris Olympics outfit as well Woodhall almost quit the career courtesy of her injuries. 

The Tara Davis-Woodhall redemption arc has come full circle 

Tara Davis-Woodhall’s mental struggles date way back to when she was at Agoura High School. While she was never short of talent, Davis Woodhall suffered some grueling injuries. Due to these injuries, she got trolled by her peers and even lost the confidence of her coach. With her back against the wall, Tara Davis-Woodhall announced her impeccable redemption in style, setting a new collegiate indoor record of 6.93m. But that was not the only setback she faced. 

During her time at the University of Georgia, Davis Woodhall was hit with several trials and tribulations. This further made her go into depression. She further suffered mental health concerns when Davis Woodhall was taunted as a ‘boy’ for having a muscular build. She went to the extent of covering herself in sweatshirts to avoid getting ridiculed. 

However, with the passing of time, Davis-Woodhall went on to realize her self-worth and began to come out of her shell. Her recent shenanigans had indicated a thunderous start to her season. She opened her season by clinching the gold medal at indoors after breaching the 7m mark. But as fate would have it, Davis-Woodhall would suffer yet another setback. In a concerning update, the 24-year-old announced an Achilles injury along with an allergic reaction. 

While the tensions went through the roof, with her fans worrying about her condition, Davis-Woodhall struck once again. After a difficult month of April, Davis-Woodhall recorded her second 7m+ jump as she jumped 7.16m at the Arkansas Twilight recently. Overwhelmed by her success, Davis-Woodhall tweeted, “the month of april was hard for me. mentally and physically. days were long and hard. but i kept fighting. i never gave up….Outdoor cycle 1 done✅”  

Thus, with so many ups and downs in her life, Davis-Woodhall has established herself as a personality who never gives up. However, apart from her physical and mental struggles, Tara Davis-Woodhall has always been vocal about the sport. 

Tara Davis-Woodhall takes a dig at the US Olympic jersey, supports husband’s comments about the sport

Nike got themselves into a bit of turmoil ahead of the Paris Olympics in 2024. Initially, they released a host of statues of athletes under their contract, to welcome them in Paris. These included the likes of Sha’Carri Richardson, Kylian Mbappe, and LeBron James. But the missing of Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce from the list had the Jamaican track and field fans fuming. And not long after this debacle, Nike was hit with yet another controversy. 

Soon after the reveal of the US official kit for the Paris Olympics, critics and athletes alike did not have a pleasant perception of the same. Tara Davis-Woodhall, in particular, took a sly dig at Nike, expressing her discontent at the matter. While Nike coined their post as ‘first look’, Davis Woodhall took to her X account and stated, “Can we do a second look?” Her sarcastic callout was enough evidence that the Olympian was not in sync with what Nike advertised as a high-tech kit. 

In another instance, Davis-Woodhall’s husband, Hunter Woodhall, commented about his take on the ongoing controversy of the athletes being slow. Throughout the season, fans have complained about the runners being slow and that their timings should increase much more. However, Hunter had a different point of view. He went on to state that the season has only started and things will definitely pick up pace as days progress. 

Unfortunately, Hunter’s justifications were not taken in good light and were called out by several fans. They even alleged that the athletes did not take their PED cycle and thus, were lacking in their performance. However, Tara Davis-Woodhall immediately came out to defend her husband. Hitting back at the critics, the 24-year-old wrote on X, “so everyone is on dr**s?… i guess you would know…”  

Thus, with ups and downs, controversies, and support, Tara Davis-Woodhall is a much-needed character in the track and field realm. Her unapologetic behavior, coupled with her relentless pursuit towards success ranks Davis-Woodhall very high on the sports hierarchy. With Paris coming close, it will be interesting to see whether Tara Davis-Woodhall is able to grab the golden snitch that has been eluding her for so long.