Just a week ago, Tara Davis-Woodhall was unable to train ahead of next week’s World Athletics Ultimate Championship after suffering a severe concussion in a car accident. Though she said at the time, “I didn’t have any life-threatening injuries,” doubts remained over whether she would be able to take part in the September 11 to 13 event in Budapest. Now, Davis-Woodhall has revealed the final decision.

On September 8, the Olympic champion shared an emotional post on Instagram announcing that she would bring her 2026 season to an early end. “Did not think I’d be making this post. After careful consideration with my team, we have decided to end the 2026 season. This one hurts. I’m sad, disappointed and just hurt by all of it,” Davis-Woodhall wrote.

“I know this has to be part of my story. There has to be a reason for this. I’ll never question God’s path for me. I WILL BE BACK. Just a hitch in my giddy-up.”

Alongside the message, Davis-Woodhall shared a photo of herself tying her shoelaces. In another picture, she posted a quote that read, “A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.”

For Davis-Woodhall, the decision is particularly difficult because she had been enjoying an excellent 2026 season. She currently owns the world’s leading women’s long jump mark this year, having jumped 7.20m.

Her season was also leading toward an important new chapter in Budapest. After all, the World Athletics Ultimate Championship is being held for the first time this year. Davis-Woodhall was not only expected to compete. World Athletics had named her one of the event’s “Ultimate Stars,” and she was also set to serve as the event’s lead content creator.

Besides, Budapest holds a special place in Davis-Woodhall’s career. She won her first senior global medal there at the 2023 World Championships, taking silver in the long jump. A year later, she became Olympic champion in Paris before adding a world title in Tokyo in 2025. The inaugural Ultimate Championship also comes with a $10 million prize pool, with $150,000 awarded to each individual event winner.

But after the accident, in which she was involved in a head-on collision, her Budapest dream ended. At that time, she explained that both cars were travelling at around 20 miles per hour when the crash happened.

“I have a severe concussion,” she said. “I pulled into the parking lot, and this lady just made a turn. We were both going about 20 miles per hour, so both of our cars were totalled.”

The physical recovery was only part of the challenge. Davis-Woodhall also admitted that the crash had affected her mentally. “It’s very scary,” she said. “I’m lucky and blessed to be alive and no life-threatening injuries. I haven’t trained at all due to it. I’ve seen my doctors and my physios, and everyone’s just trying to get me back into it. I’m physically okay. Mentally, it’s just something’s going on in there.”

Now, instead of fighting for another title in Budapest, Davis-Woodhall will turn her attention to recovery. But she is not the only Ultimate Star who has been forced to withdraw at the eleventh hour.

Noah Lyles’ hamstring injury forces early end to 2026 season

Noah Lyles has also ended his 2026 season and will miss the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest. Lyles’ withdrawal comes after an injury he suffered at the U.S. Championships in July. The American won the 100m title in a personal-best-equalling 9.79 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year at the time. However, during the 200m final, he grabbed his left hamstring and pulled up.

At first, Lyles believed it was only a cramp. Further medical checks later revealed a small strain. His recovery initially went well, and he remained hopeful of returning in time for the Ultimate Championship. But the injury eventually began causing other problems and made it difficult for him to continue training.

“Unfortunately, because of the strain, it caused some other things to flare up, and it’s made it hard for me to continue practising,” Lyles explained. With his preparation affected, Lyles and his coach ultimately decided that the best option was to shut down his 2026 season rather than risk returning before he was fully ready.