High school sweethearts, social media stars and now, Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists. A beautiful chapter was added to the fairytale love story of Tara and Hunter Woodhall as the latter surged ahead of his rivals in the men’s 400m T62 final on Friday (6 September), claiming victory at Stade de France just weeks after his wife won gold in the women’s long jump event at the Paris Olympic Games. (Full Coverage | More Sports News)
United States' Hunter ran a well-judged race in the final, ending up with a time of 46.36 seconds to clinch his first-ever gold medal at the Paralympic Games. It was a moment of pure bliss for the American para athlete, who was third time lucky after twice finishing third in the 400m category at the Paralympic Games.
“This is like a fever dream. I am so full of emotions right now. It is so incredible. I have been waiting so long, and gone through so much stress and worry about achieving this," the Olympics website quoted him as saying after the title triumph.
He added, “This is a lesson in shooting for the stars and making big goals.”
The 25-year-old quickly celebrated his victory with the crowd, before running to embrace Tara in the stands - a picture-perfect moment that aptly captured the essence of Paris 2024 for team USA’s track and field power couple.
“I was so nervous, I was so pumped – knowing he was ready to run and how much he wanted to win. And now he has," reigning Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall said. “It was a dream for us to both win gold and now we have. We’ll be wearing these golds for the rest of our lives.”
After winning the 400m T62 final, Hunter also showed the camera the back of his bib, revealing a message he wrote for his late uncle who passed away from cancer in 2021. “Wyatt Woodhall, this one is for you,” the bib read.
The Olympic-Paralympics couple first caught public attention last August, when a video of Tara at the Paris 2024 Olympics went viral online. The athlete was seen immediately looking for Hunter after she won the women’s long jump final, and she leapt into his arms as he told her: “Babe, you’re the Olympic champion!”
