Everything you need to know about Tara Davis-Woodhall's signature cowboy hats and boots story 

By Abhiruchi Rout

Modified Aug 06, 2024 10:11 GMT

American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall shared the narrative behind her signature hats and cowboy boots which she typically wears before and after her long jump competitions. Davis-Woodhall qualified for her second Olympics with an impressive performance at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

At the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, she achieved a best effort of 7.00m (+2.6 m/s wind-assisted) to book her spot in the United States squad for Paris.

Recently, Davis-Woodhall was captured sharing the story of how her tradition of wearing signature hats and boots began. The video posted by the NCAA on Instagram features the athlete narrating her story, stating:

“This was nationals. I was behind before this jump, and then on my fifth jump, I led by three-quarters. I ended up winning the competition, which is pretty cool. Yeah, that was the debut of the hat and the boots.”

The 2023 World Championships silver medalist added:

“The hat was from my teammate who would bring his hat all the time, and I thought that was really cool. And then the boots were from my grandpa, and now it's literally my signature, and I got a tattoo of it.”

Davis-Woodhall appeared with the hats and boots for the first time in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Representing the Texas Longhorns Track and Field, she took the NCAA title on her fifth jump with a leap of 6.70m on her fifth try. In addition, this was also her last collegiate meet.

Tara Davis-Woodhall’s collegiate journey also saw her capture the NCAA indoor title earlier in the same year on March 12, 2021, with a best effort of 6.93m.

Tara Davis-Woodhall eyes her first Olympic medal at Paris Olympics 2024

Tara Davis of Team United States competes in the Women's Long Jump Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

At 22, Tara Davis-Woodhall made her Summer Games debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing sixth with a best effort of 6.84m. However, she has since grown as an athlete and is now heading to her second Olympic Games at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In the 2024 season, she has gone over the 7.00m or beyond mark on four occasions with a season-best performance of 7.18m at the 2024 USA Indoor Championships. With this, Davis-Woodhall not only stands as the second-best performer this season but also a serious medal contender in the women’s long jump for the Paris Olympics.