Who Are Tara Davis-Woodhall’s Parents? Everything You Need to Know About the Olympian’s Family

Tara Davis-Woodhall is impossible to miss on the track. Sporting her flowy hair, cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and leotard, she stays true to her Texan roots. The 25-year-old punched her ticket to her second Olympic run on June 29 at the US Olympic trials.

She has been a force in the long jump, landing a 6th place finish at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and also won a silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. In the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, she won gold. All of this was possible because of Tara Davis-Woodhall’s hard work and also her family’s background in sports. Here’s all we know about her parents, who set her up to win!

Tara Davis-Woodhall’s parents: Meet Ty and Rayshon Davis

According to NBC Olympics, after every field event that Tara Davis-Woodhall aces, she dashes straight into the arms of a man eagerly waiting on the sidelines. That man is none other than her coach and dad, Ty Davis.

The athlete would follow her siblings and father to the track to watch them practice, and that’s how she got involved in sports. She is the youngest of five children. As her older sister was a long jumper, a young Tara too wanted to try it out, simply to copy her sister. Soon, she began competing with other kids.

Interesting Fact: As a child, Tara Davis-Woodhall used to compete in older age divisions despite being much younger. She would even win those long jump competitions. However, her parents would ask her to give away her ribbon to the athlete who would have won the competition if she hadn’t been competing.

Ty, a former track and field athlete from Texas A&M, had been her coach since she was four years old. With Tara Davis-Woodhall’s mom, Rayshon also helping with the coaching, practicing and competing was a family affair.

Inspiration at home: Impact of parents on Tara Davis’s successful career

Ty Davis, who coached Tara Davis-Woodhall from the time she was four years old until she headed off to college, has been with her every step of the way. At 5-foot-4, she might have been smaller than some other long jumpers, but she made up for it with her focus and attention to detail.

Ty shared that Tara was not only very coachable but also their parent-coach dynamic was always smooth sailing. Just check out Ty’s Instagram, which is full of proud posts about his little girl.

In fact, the athlete told reporters ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, “My dad and I, we could turn the switch off from coach and athlete to dad and daughter quickly and easily.” She shared how the two “have this strong connection for track and a strong love for track, so we were always talking about track.”

Ty Davis credited a bit of luck for their winning balance because his daughter performed well early on. She trusted her dad as a coach and liked his approach. That synergy on the track only made their father-daughter bond stronger.

The duo even shared an Olympic experience. In 2021, the whole family flew to Oregon to see her clinch her ticket to the Tokyo Olympics. Her grandmother, Roz Lane, shared, “I asked her what’s her goal, ‘To make the team.’”

After Tara made the jump that landed her a spot in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the whole family was left screaming and hugging each other. Tara’s boyfriend and now husband, Hunter Woodhall, ran onto the track to pick her up, and later on, she was photographed hugging both her father and mother.

However, the whole family couldn’t make it to Japan for the Olympics in 2021. All but Ty. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, athletes couldn’t bring family members, but Ty accompanied Tara to her debut in Tokyo. She told reporters ahead of the 2021 Olympics, “I am so blessed that I’ll have a family member to come with me and watch me compete at the highest level of my life.”