All eyes were glued to Tara Davis-Woodhall as she entered Times Square to make her stance known for the 2025 Athlos NYC. The spotlight followed her as she qualified for the long jump finale. With the final stage set, her path to the podium is about to become far more complicated than expected, as the American will now come face-to-face with the familiar rivals who gave her a tough competition at the 2023 London Athletics meet.

As Tara Davis Woodhall takes the no.1 spot in the qualifiers, the two-time Olympian Jazmin Sawyers and 2x NCAA champion Quanesha Burks asserts a solid challenge with a second and third place finish, respectively. While Davis-Woodhall jumped 6.81m (-1.5) at the qualifying event, the Briton hit the mark of 6.77m. And trailing behind Sawyers is Burks, who jumped 6.38m, for the third spot.

The three of them will compete against each other for the $60K prize money and the iconic Tiffany and Co. crown at the Icahn Stadium in the finale. And it’s going to be Davis-Woodhall’s toughest challenge. Reason – when the last time three of them competed against each other back in 2023 in London, Davis-Woodhall (6.72m) ended in the third spot, with Burks securing the first position with a 6.98m mark, and Sawyers narrowly missed the podium (6.67m).

But when the fans anticipated a battle between Davis-Woodhall, and Sawyers at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Brit was forced to pull out. 

Why did Jazmin Sawyers vs. Tara Davis-Woodhall not materialize at the 2024 Olympics?

Sawyers posed a significant challenge to Davis-Woodhall at the Paris Olympics. With her 7m jump at the European Indoor Championships 2023, all eyes were expecting her to showcase her skills in Paris. But she was hit with a curveball when she injured her Achilles’ tendon. Taking to social media, Sawyers stated, “I have had some bad days. I won’t be at the Olympics this summer because I ruptured my Achilles on my takeoff leg.”

Jazmin Sawyers had to undergo surgery to fix her ankle, and the rehabilitation seemed to have gone pretty well. And the reason behind that success lies in her resilient spirit. She claimed, “When something like this happens, it’s really important to have an identity outside of just athlete training for the Olympics because I’m not that anymore, but I’m still everything else that I was before this happened.” Nevertheless, she’s already here, making waves. 

So, who do you think can secure the $60K prize money on Friday at the Icahn Stadium? Will it be Tara Davis-Woodhall? Or will it all end with Sawyers making history and surpassing Davis-Woodhall?