Who Is Hunter Woodhall, Paralympian Sprinter and Husband of Tara Davis Woodhall?

Woodhall was born in Georgia, but he grew up primarily in Syracuse, Utah, according to local station KSL. His parents, Steve and Barb Woodhall, both have roots in Montana. 

Woodhall was home-schooled until the fifth grade, according to a Sports Illustrated profile. Upon entering public school at that age, he experienced bullying, but began finding his place in athletics.

“We knew early on that if he wanted to do something he would figure out how,” his mother told Sports Illustrated. “God gave him an extra dose of tenacity.”

Woodhall excelled in high school track and ultimately continued his athletic career at the University of Arkansas.

Woodhall was born with fibular hemimelia, a congenital limb deficiency where the fibular bone is either partially or completely missing – a very rare condition that affects 1 in 40,000 children, according to the Paley Orthopedic & Spine Institute at St. Mary's Medical Center in Florida. As a result, Woodhall had his lower legs amputated when he was just 11 months old, according to People. 

Doctors initially weren’t sure if he’d ever be able to walk—let alone run—but, as Woodhall once told Utah Station KSL, that all changed after he got his first pair of running blades after entering middle school.

“Shriners Hospital for Children had never made a pair of running blades at the Salt Lake City hospital, and there was no question at all. It was, yes, absolutely, let’s do it. Let’s figure it out. And I just remember the first day I got the blades, I was running through the hallways,” he remembered. “It was just a feeling I had never felt, and from then on, I was hooked. There was no way I was never not going to be running.”

By the time he was in high school, Woodhall was competing—and winning—on the track. It was one of those track competitions where Woodhall first crossed paths with his future wife. 

As the pair recounted on their YouTube channel, Woodhall and Woodhall Davis, who was attending high school in California, were both at the Simplot Games in Idaho when they caught each other’s eye. 

“I just like saw him and was like, ‘Oh who’s that?’” Woodhall Davis said. 

What she didn’t know at the time was that Woodhall had already seen her compete and even made a bold prediction to his best friend after spotting her.

“I was like, ‘Damn that girl’s fine. I’m gonna marry that girl,’” he recalled. 

When it was time for him to compete, Woodhall Davis nonchalantly positioned herself at the side of the track and gave him a hug as he walked by after the race. 

“She just walks up and she’s like ‘I just need a hug,’” Woodhall remembered. 

This year, the pair are adding even more memorable moments to their life together. After heading to Paris for the Olympic Games, where Woodhall Davis took home the gold in the women’s long jump, their focus has now shifted to the Paralympic Games.

Woodhall is expected to compete in two events: the 100-meter T64 and the 400-meter T62. He set a new American record in the men’s 400-meter T62 in July. (In para athletics, there are different classifications for each event, depending on the nature of the athlete's impairment. In T62 races, athletes with below-knee amputations in both legs are eligible; in T64, athletes with a below-knee amputation in at least one leg are eligible.)

It will be Woodhall’s third Paralympic Games. He already took home a bronze in the 400-meter T44 and silver in the 200-meter T44 at the Rio Games and added another bronze medal to his collection in Tokyo during the 400-meter T44.