Tara Davis-Woodhall is a woman on a mission! Her mission? “My entire goal, since I’ve gone to track and field, was to change the sport,” She is changing the sport alright! Winning the Olympic gold medal back in Paris, dethroning reigning champion Malaika Mihambo, she further helped bring limelight to field events. But the reality remains, that field athletes do not have it easy. Now, amid the buzz of signing up with Alexis Ohanian’s ATHLOS NYC, Tara Davis-Woodhall has decided to speak candidly about the turmoils of a field athlete. 

Much to the glee of track and field fans, ATHLOS has included field events in its lineup. The face of ATHLOS 2025 field events? none other than reigning Olympic women’s long jump champion, Tara Davis! This achievement is second to none and only adds to the long jumper’s list of accomplishments. Her success is well-deserved, especially after the several challenges she had to encounter to flourish in her career. In her early days, Davis-Woodhall fought with body image issues. She also struggled with depression and anxiety. But even after unparalleled successes on the field, the Olympian still has things on her plate to deal with.

 In a recent interaction, Tara Davis-Woodhall explained how hard it is for a field athlete to make an impact on live television. She stated that in general, a field event lasts for about an hour and a half. However, none of the broadcasters are even remotely interested in covering the entirety of it. “My event lasts an hour and a half, [but a broadcaster is] not going to show every single jump, they’re not going to show every single athlete, not going to share every story,” shared the Olympic gold medalist. Thus, this presents the athletes with a severe problem. 

“For us, you have one minute on the runway. That means one minute of TV time,” said Davis-Woodhall. This meant that not only did the athletes have to focus on their game, but they would also be required to express themselves in the most eye-catching manner possible. This was important in order to raise the marketability aspect of the sport. And Tara Davis-Woodhall does exactly that. “So for me, I’m going to capitalize the most on that. I’m going to share my excitement for my sport,” said Davis-Woodhall.

Moreover, Davis-Woodhall clarified the role of social media in addressing the gap left by television, “This is why we post on social media—to show the behind-the-scenes of what we do. We get to share our stories,“. The Olympian has an unmatched social media presence. Along with her husband, Paralympian Hunter Woodhall, the Texas native keeps fans and admirers updated on her life via their accounts on YouTube and Instagram. Meanwhile, as the Olympic gold medalist shares a deep-rooted love for her sport, she recently got involved in a major beef with Michael Johnson, and at the center of it all? her respect and love for field sports!

The Woodhalls’ explosive rift with Michael Johnson deepens after the official launch of Grand Slam Track.

When Tara Davis-Woodhall called out Michael Johnson in January, few expected the ripple effect to last this long. But with the official launch of Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 4, the long jumper’s frustration has only intensified. And her husband, Hunter Woodhall, just added fuel to the fire.

Davis-Woodhall, an Olympic long jump champion, had already slammed Johnson’s vision for trying to “save just track,” saying bluntly, “It’s track and field for a reason!” That initial video, where she told Johnson, “The field events actually do have a lot of impact on the sport and we don’t need your saving,” lit a spark. But now, with the stands at the much-hyped debut event noticeably empty, the criticism is back in full swing.

Hunter Woodhall took to Instagram with a pointed swipe, sharing a track from the event featuring glaringly vacant seats and sarcastically captioning it, “Thank goodness he’s ‘saving’ track.” Though he deleted the post later, the message landed.

This isn’t about personal grudges — it’s about visibility and value. Tara, whose career is built on mastering the field side of the sport, isn’t backing down. Her verdict on Johnson’s efforts? “The sport does not need you.” The track may have the buzz, but the field refuses to be sidelined.