Bath & Body Works Counts Down To Candle Day 2024 - Source: Getty — Hunter Woodhall flaunts his Paralympic rings [Image Source : Getty]

Hunter Woodhall flaunts his Paralympic rings as he receives an early Christmas present amid the holiday season

Modified Dec 22, 2024 02:19 GMT

Paralympic champion Hunter Woodhall received an early surprise for the Christmas holidays. The 25-year-old para athlete received his token from the Paris Paralympics as an early Christmas present.

Woodhall flaunted his present, alongside the rings he received from the previous two editions held in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo respectively. He posted on his Instagram story,

"Little surprise, Early Christmas present from @octanner"

Screengrab of Hunter Woodhall's Instagram story [Image Source : Hunter Woodhall's Instagram]

Tara-Davis Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall set a unique record at the quadrennial event held in Paris. While the long jumper won a gold medal in the women's long jump event at the Paris Olympics, the para-athlete won a gold medal in the men's 400m event [T64]. This made them the first-ever couple to win a gold medal in the same edition of the Olympics and Paralympics.

Interestingly, this was Hunter Woodhall's first gold medal at any edition of the Paralympics. He had previously won a silver medal and a bronze medal at the Rio Paralympics, while he won just a bronze medal in the 400m event at the Tokyo Paralympics. However, the para-athlete got third time lucky in Paris.

The Woodhall couple recently shifted to Kansas City after the long jumper was appointed as the assistant coach for the track and field at Kansas State University. She had accepted the job at the recommendation of her longtime coach, Travis Geopfert.

Hunter Woodhall on his initial struggles as a para athlete

Hunter Woodhall at the Paris Paralympics [Image Source : Getty]

Hunter Woodhall has earned five medals at the Paralympics, including the gold medal he won at the Paris Paralympics. However, his journey as a para-athlete was far from a cakewalk.

Woodhall recounted that though he was talented, he found it hard to secure a spot for himself on the track and field team, whether it was the school or the colleges. In his words,

"It was a question of, ‘Why?’ I [felt] like I had all the boxes checked. Why am I not able to get into this sport? The answer was, ‘It’s never been done.’ For so long … it’s been fighting for the right, fighting for respect, fighting for other people to see our value and what we want to see happen in sports.Now it’s also about shedding more light on the inclusion."

"We want to show people that it’s awesome to be different; it’s awesome to be unique,” Woodhall said. “And you can do really, really incredible things—regardless of what your physical attributes or situation is," he added.

Hunter Woodhall is hopeful of repeating his heroics in the upcoming season. His first major target would be the Para World Championships, which are proposed to be held in New Delhi.