After soaring 7.13m in the long jump finale to capture gold at the Tokyo World Championships, Tara Davis-Woodhall was elated and wanted “to hug everyone.” But the first thing that the 26-year-old did after clinching the world-leading mark was to Google search one of the important aspects of her game.

On October 8, the reigning World Champion joined her fiancé, Hunter Woodhall, for a fun rapid-fire. The couple took turns to play the “What’s in My Tab” game on Google Chrome’s official YouTube channel. When Tara picked a card with a prompt “Your most visited tab,” she was quick to answer and said that as an American, she often gets confused between meters and feet. She mentioned, “I run track. I’m an American. “Track is a European sport, so everything is in meters, and I need a converter all the time. So, I’m constantly asking, ‘What is seven meters to feet?’ And that is 23 ft.” 

The lighthearted exchange was full of laughter but it was Tara’s playful confession that stole the show. Well, Hunter had a different take on it, admitting with a laugh that he finds the American system even more confusing. “And I get more confused with the American measurements. Yeah. Like 12 inches in a foot? 3 feet in a yard? The math’s not mathing.”

Traditionally, American schools have relied solely on the imperial system of measurement, rarely touching the metric scale. However, that changed in 2017 when the Florida High School Athletic Association made history by becoming the first in the nation to fully adopt the metric system for all district, regional, and state track and field championships, covering every event from sprints to jumps, including the high jump, triple jump, and long jump.

Back in 2017, Abington High School’s Track and Field Head Coach, Brian Lanner, spoke to the media about the importance of consistency in measurements, saying, “Here at AHS, it would be important that field events are all measured and recorded using the same measurement system to make it more accurate and simpler to compare results. While Florida may have been first to make the change 100% to metric, it’s not impossible to see a time soon where all of New England may need to adjust to be more uniform across the country.”

Despite the push toward the metric system, only a handful of states have truly embraced it. Besides Florida, only Missouri and Illinois have officially implemented metric measurements at the high school level. Across most of the U.S., field events are still recorded in feet and inches, while collegiate (NCAA) and USATF competitions follow the global metric standard. Well, schools are now gradually moving forward to adapting the metric system.

Now, as the Athlos takes center stage, Tara Davis Woodhall is clearly excited to be part of the event, and all for a great cause.

Tara Davis-Woodhall makes an honest confession about Athlos NYC

Founded by Alexis Ohanian, Athlos is an all-women-centric track and field league that was initially focused solely on track events. But one call with Tara Davis-Woodhall changed everything. When Ohanian invited her to join, Tara Davis-Woodhall made a simple demand: she wouldn’t participate unless field events were included. The result? The upcoming Athlos NYC event will feature field events for the very first time. Davis-Woodhall has not only become one of Athlos’ brightest stars but also secured a seat at the table, teaming up with sprint sensation Sha’Carri Richardson to help shape the league’s future.

Recently, Athlos’ official Instagram shared a post spotlighting Tara, where she opened up with a revealing confession: “Field events rarely get the spotlight. When we’re out here, it feels like we’re defying the odds. I’ve always dreamed of transforming the sport—redefining the game of the long jump,” the athlete shared.

She further added, “Bringing long jump to the middle of Times Square, the middle of New York City, I feel like that’s changing the game. What fans should expect when they come to watch me in the middle of Times Square is entertainment, pure, pure entertainment. I feel like tourists are here to look at something, to be entertained. And so, why not me? I’ll be your entertainer for the night.”

With the Athlos tiara on the stage and a massive pool of prize money, Tara Davis-Woodhall is thrilled to be part of its debut event.