In September, when Hunter Woodhall clinched gold in the 400m T62 at the Paralympics in Paris, he celebrated by hugging his wife. This was a role reversal of the celebrations when Tara Davis took the gold at the same venue a month earlier, with the doting husband sporting a “Team Tara” t-shirt in the stands! These two moments perfectly summed up their relationship that began when they were high schoolers. Soon, they realized they were unlike any other couple around them and this is what led to a hilarious interaction between Tara and her family.

The couple rose to fame at the Olympic Games that took place in the summer of 2021. Tara participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, finishing 6th in the women’s long jump. Hunter emerged as the proud winner of the bronze medal in men’s 400T62 in the Paralympics. After getting engaged on a tropical vacation in 2021, just weeks after the Olympics, they got married the following year.

The two first crossed paths in high school at a track meet in Idaho in 2017, where Hunter had traveled from Utah and Tara was visiting from California. During warmups, Hunter locked eyes with Tara and, in his words, it was “love at first sight.” He even joked in a YouTube video, “I was like, ‘D—, that girl’s fine. I’m gonna marry that girl.’” The next day, after Hunter won his 400m race, Tara walked right up to him and congratulated him with a hug—right in front of everyone. Remembering the moment, Tara said, “I said, ‘I don’t know why I have to do this, but I have to hug you.’”

While their first meeting was old-fashioned, it then took a modern twist, with Tara sliding into Hunter’s DM on Instagram after the meet. Tara sent a late-night tweet that caught her future husband’s attention. “She slid in and was like, ‘What are you still doing awake?’ And I was like, ‘Alright, game on,’” Hunter recalled with a smirk. Tara added, “He [said], ‘Waiting for you to text me,’ or something like that. It was very high-school-esque.” Soon they started dating and Tara’s family was aware of the situation and decided to meet Hunter.

Talking to GQ, Tara recalled how her family handled meeting her boyfriend for the first time. She said their reaction was, “Leave it to you to bring home a white boy with no legs.” While their situation was unique in a few aspects, an interracial couple with one person, a double amputee, is pretty rare, isn’t it?

Well, in Tara’s defense, she didn’t even know her future husband didn’t have legs. And, to be honest, she didn’t even care! As per the Instagram page ‘thewaywemet’, “At the time, she didn’t know that he didn’t have legs because he was wearing sweatpants. Hunter was diagnosed with fibular hemimelia when he was born and his parents chose to amputate his legs when he was 11 months old. Although he originally used prosthetic legs, he later transitioned to blades so that he could run. Tara said she stared at him for a little bit and then realized she was being awkward.”

Soon after, the couple began a long-distance relationship, and the rest, as we know, is history!

In 2017, they launched a joint YouTube channel that boasts nearly a million subscribers. On the platform, they share updates from their life, including the time when they bought a home, and also kept the fans engaged during the Olympic Trials. The two have been constantly supporting each other and the events of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics were a witness to their bond. Winning their respective medals just one month apart was a memorable moment for the couple and they rank it quite high.

According to the track and field couple, the moment is second only to their wedding in October 2022. “It’s up there,” Tara Davis-Woodhall said while her husband mentioned, “It was the most amazing sports moment ever. It’s at the top of my highlight reel.”

Meanwhile, they also engaged in a “couples quiz” on GQ which further gave an insight into their camaraderie and revealed how much love they have for each other.

Hunter drove 13 hours to gift Tara Davis sunflowers

The GQ couples quiz dove into how they first met and had some interesting questions for both of them to answer. Tara asked her husband, “What was my favorite long-distance date?” Hunter was ready with the answer and recalled, “One time when Tara was at Georgia, I was in Arkansas and I took a 13-hour drive because Tara texted me and said she wanted some sunflowers. So, I bought sunflowers in Arkansas, drove them 13 hours. I dropped them off to you and we had a really incredible day and then, I drove home 13 hours.”

Tara confirmed that this was indeed her favorite long-distance date. Hunter also correctly answered questions about Tara’s pre-event ritual and what she absolutely needs in her room in the Olympic Village (a mirror). However, he was stumped when Tara asked him what did she do on her fifth birthday.

Hunter answered that she had a pool party, but his wife caught him off guard and said she had a party at McDonalds. The quiz demonstrated how well they each other and why they are one of the most followed couples in the track and field world. Paris’ golden couple will be keen to make more memories both on and off the track and share their joy with their legion of followers.