"I'm the only Black Girl" - Tara Davis-Woodhall opens up on her struggles as a school student in Calabasas

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Nov 09, 2024 01:32 GMT

Olympic medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall opened up on her struggles as an African-American schoolgirl at Calabasas in California. The 25-year-old long jumper was present at a SHRM INCLUSION 2024 meet in Denver alongside her husband and Paralympic champion, Hunter Woodhall.

Davis-Woodhall recounted the cultural shock she received when she moved to Calabasas, California. In her words,

“I didn’t understand why I was always the one that was picked on, until I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s because I’m the only Black girl.’ ”

The 25-year-old Davis-Woodhall was born in Mesquite, Texas before she moved to California at the age of 11 years. The long jumper was backed by her husband during the meet, who narrated his struggles as a para-athlete.

"[People kept telling me] ‘No, it’s not going to happen. You’re not built for this. You should find a different path,’ ” said Woodhall.

The couple now call for increased diversity and inclusion in both athletics and beyond.

"For so long … it’s been fighting for the right, fighting for the respect, fighting for other people to see our value and what we want to see happen in sport,” said Hunter Woodhall.

Tara Davis-Woodhall is currently in Kansas, working as an assistant track and field coach at Kansas State University. She took up the offer after the Paris Olympics, at the insistence of her long-time coach Travis Geopfert, who is now the director of track and field/ cross university at Kansas State University.

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Tara Davis-Woodhall on competing as a black athlete

Tara Davis-Woodhall in action during the women's long jump finals at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source : Getty]

In the SHRM meet at Denver, Tara Davis-Woodhall also talked at length about her identity as a black athlete, and how the presence of other African-American athletes made her feel comfortable.

"In my sport, there are other Black girls and African American athletes, and so when I was in the sport, I felt like I belonged,” Davis-Woodhall said.

In an article written for Sports Illustrated magazine in 2022, Davis-Woodhall recounted her role models, which included her dad, who was also a former track athlete. In her words,

"I had great role models growing up who fought these battles for me on the track. My dad was one of the biggest. He was my coach when I was 4 up until 18. He was able to guide me through all of the new challenges that came in my life. I also had track and field icons like Allyson Felix and Brittney Reese, who dominated the sport ever since I could remember," wrote the Olympic champion.

The American long jumper also mentioned how her generation could spark change in terms of diversity.

"Since I am in the spotlight, I do have a responsibility. I know people are looking at me and there’s a lot of pressure behind that. Unlike a lot of other Olympic sports, track and field is pretty diverse. But across sports, there’s much more to be done, and I think my generation can spark that change," she added.

Tara Davis-Woodhall won a gold medal in the women's long jump event at the Paris Olympics, defeating the defending champion, Malaika Mihambo from Germany. Her husband, Hunter Woodhall won the Paralympic gold medal in the men's 400m [T64] event. With this, the Woodhalls became the first-ever track couple to win a gold medal at the same edition of the Olympics as well as the Paralympics.