Remember Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall from the Olympic Games? Yes, that power couple whom everyone was talking about after their wholesome gesture to each other when Hunter’s wife Tara secured her career-first Olympic gold medal. Indeed, it was a moment to cherish in her life, and her husband was the happiest man in the stadium. The same was true for Tara when Hunter won his Paralympic gold medal a few weeks later.

Both of them are the sweethearts of the track and field community, and many respect them for their relationship, which has grown stronger every year they have been together with each other. Indeed, the two have always had something up their sleeves that has surprised the community, whether it be their stern remarks on a few issues of the sport or their future planning. However, this time, they caught Noah Lyles off guard with their impressive hype train.

Noah Lyles wanted to know more from the couple

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Whenever there’s some exciting idea that includes reforming track and field, it always gets the curious side of Noah Lyles. The Olympian has his own plans to enhance the sport and elevate it to the level of other popular leagues such as the NFL and NBA. However, the path is long, and the challenge is big, and he will want a lot of other people carrying the same mindset as him.

In his latest episode of the Beyond The Records Podcast, he and co-host Rai Benjamin were joined by Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall, and they discussed various topics. And when the conversation came to field events, Tara had a lot to discuss. And why? While the track is popular, field events get far less attention, and this is something she wants to change. And she knows that she has to step in to make these big decisions, which would only help her beloved sport.

So when Lyles asked her about the way she wanted to organize a field event, Tara opened up, stating, “It’s intimate setting; it’s not big, so you don’t have to like fill a freaking Stadium. It’s lights everywhere, there’s music, there’s cameras, there’s flashing lights, there’s fire everywhere like it is a show. I want to show someone how far I can jump, like I am defying gravity, like in a human body, in a 5-foot-3 human body.” After the Olympic long jumper unveiled the way she wanted to set up an event, just to clarify, Noah asked her again, stating, “Would you like be open to having like a just field events?”

However, with a cheeky face, Hunter replied, stating, “We got something for you, Noah, don’t you?” Lyles understood them, stating, “They cooking. They’re cooking in the back.” Indeed, the couple didn’t exactly reveal their plans for the future but left a hint to let the audience think about what is about to come. A surprise, isn’t it? Hunter has always been supportive of Tara, and if she does want a field-exclusive event in the future for the field athletes, he will be delighted to be by her side and work on it. Noah Lyles and Benjamin, being track athletes, are also excited, as it’s been a while since there’s been any exclusive field event. 

Indeed, track and field are two unique words in the sport. Both track and field belong to different divisions and attract different types of athletes. And between the two, the track is much more popular and, most of the time, gets noticed out there in the world. The field has its own audience, but it’s very niche, and Tara wants to break from that norm to showcase to the critics out there that she can reform it. A similar controversy arose when she engaged in a heated online argument with a track legend.

Tara Davis-Woodhall wasn’t happy with Michael Johnson

A few weeks ago, Michael Johnson went candid in an interview with the BBC, with a bold statement, stating, “Grand Slam Track is track; that is what we’re doing. I am going to save what I think I can save; I think I can save track; I don’t think I can save track and field.” But what was the point he was making? With experience, Johnson is bringing up his own event, Grand Slam Track. However, it will only cover track events, and not field ones. So, while he’s reforming track, he’s missing out on the other part of the sport.

While his statement didn’t mean any harm, it wasn’t taken lightly by the 25-year-old. “About my sport, it does not need saving at all. It’s actually, Michael, you are ruining the sport if you are trying to save just track… it’s track and field for a reason,” said Tara on an Instagram story, and continued, stating, “The field events actually do have a lot of impact on the sport and we don’t need your saving. Your time has passed and if you wanted to change the sport, you would have done it a long time ago.” Now, that’s a stern remark on a legend who has never seen the looks of any other medals than just gold in his career.

Indeed, it was clear frustration. Athletes involved in the sport are aware of the problems inherent in both track and field. While it’s undeniable that one sport may be less popular than the other, there are more pressing issues to discuss than the division between track and field.