After 'hell and back' journey, Tara Davis-Woodhall takes long jump gold at Paris Olympics

SAINT-DENIS, France — Long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall thought about quitting. She's said she battled depression and body image issues. She's gone, in her words, "through hell and back."

But on the other side of all of that was the moment she experienced Thursday night at the Stade de France, falling backwards into the sand pit, knowing that she was finally and forever an Olympic champion.

Davis-Woodhall won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday by leaping 7.1 meters (or more than 23 feet) over that same sand pit, setting a bar on her fourth attempt of the night that nobody else in the field − including reigning Olympic gold medalist Malaika Mihambo of Germany − would be able to match.

It was a redemptive moment for the 25-year-old, after a disappointing second-place finish at last year's world championships. And an emotional one, given everything she's been through.

"I tried so hard to just keep on being positive this year and keep on being motivated," she said. "That motivation turned to manifestation, and manifestation turned into a reality. And the reality is: I'm an Olympic gold medalist."

She was joined on the podium by another American, Jasmine Moore, who placed third. Mihambo took silver.

Thursday's gold medal was a crowning achievement for one of the most charismatic stars on the field side of track and field, a woman who's been known to don a cowboy hat at competitions and can always be counted upon to start up a slow clap with the crowd before one of her jumps.

Few in the sport can match Davis-Woodhall's visible energy and excitement, and even fewer can match her social media following. Between Instagram and TikTok, she has more than 1 million followers. She also runs a YouTube channel with her husband, Hunter Woodhall, who is a Paralympic athlete for Team USA.

Yet beyond the infectious smile that fans see in the stadium, Davis-Woodhall has also spoken openly about her mental health and her battle with depression. In November 2020, when she was competing at the University of Texas, she said she hit a low point, staying in her room for almost a full week, struggling to get out of bed.

"Mentally, I was in a dark place," Davis-Woodhall said at a media roundtable in New York earlier this year. "I just didn't want to be here anymore."

Her depression left her questioning everything, including whether she wanted to quit the sport that had once been her lifelong passion.

After transferring from Georgia to Texas, Davis-Woodhall said she was struggling with the broader impacts of COVID-19 and the effects of a fractured back. At first, she had a hard time connecting with her new teammates. The city of Austin felt foreign to her.

Davis-Woodhall said she emerged from that malaise by getting out of bed and giving herself a deadline: Dec. 7, 2020. That was the arbitrary date by which she would decide whether she wanted to continue in track and field, or quit. "I actually made a pros and cons list of why I should quit track, and why I should stay," she recalled.

Ultimately, Davis-Woodhall came to realize that she had choices. Because she started competing when she was 4 years old, and because her father served as her primary coach, the idea of not competing in track and field had never been an option. Now it was, as was the daily choice to get out of bed and try to take up a joyful attitude.

"I think that's when I realized 'OK, this is my choice,' " Davis-Woodhall said. "We can either continue to be sad and be in bed all day, or we can go outside and enjoy life − a life that we only have one time to live."

The years since have featured career highs and more challenges. In 2021, she set a collegiate record at Texas, placed second at the U.S. Olympic trials and went on to finish sixth at the Tokyo Games. Then, in 2023, she tested positive for THC, the main psychoactive compound found in marijuana, and had her national indoor title stripped away as a result. A disappointing second-place finish at the world championships followed.

The start of the new year, however, brought change. Davis-Woodhall said she took every aspect of her career to "the next level" − from her training and recovery, to her sleep and diet. She also said this spring that she got more comfortable with her body image, embracing the more muscular arms and shoulders that she used to hide under a hoodie in high school.

"I couldn’t be myself for a while, and it sucked. It sucks not being able to just be free," she said. "And now that I am, I am not going back.”

Davis-Woodhall, who was recently hired as an assistant coach at Kansas State, is one of several Team USA athletes who now talk openly and frequently about the importance of mental health, crediting their therapists in celebratory news conferences. Another such athlete, star gymnast Simone Biles, was on hand at the Stade de France on Thursday night.

For Davis-Woodhall, it all comes back to that idea of choice. She has the word "sacrifice" tattooed on her torso, and she is no stranger to what that means. But she's chosen it, particularly over the past four years. And it led her to Thursday night, where she leaped across a sand pit and then into her husband's arms along the railing at the edge of the front row of seats, smiling wide and laughing.

This, she confirmed later, was one of those things on that pro-con list in 2020: The opportunity to win a gold medal. It was a reason to keep going. And on Thursday, she couldn't have been happier that she did.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tara Davis-Woodhall wins gold in long jump at 2024 Paris Olympics