Tara Davis-Woodhall rarely slows down.
As the 25-year-old track and field star — who took home gold in the women’s long jump at the Paris Olympics this summer — prepares to start the new season, Davis-Woodhall tells PEOPLE she’s still “riding the wave” of her Olympic victory.
“It’s true, I’m all over the place,” says Davis-Woodhall, who announced a collaboration with shoe brand Tecovas for a special launch of their popular Sadie and Daisy boots in gold on November 7.
“So I’m still riding the wave this week, but now that it’s time for the season to start again, I think there’s a little bit of anxiety about that,” says the Olympian.
Davis-Woodhall says her anxiety manifests in “overwhelming feelings”, and while it’s certainly “exciting” for her to start a new season, “it’s nerve-wracking”, she admits.
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Months after winning the gold medal, Davis-Woodhall — whose husband Hunter Woodhall also brought home a gold medal this summer in the T62 400m at the Paralympics — says she still hasn’t gotten used to her new Olympic title. .
Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall pose with their gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Joe Scarnici/Getty
“It’s still so crazy to see a picture of me with a gold medal around my neck, or going to events and Tara Woodhall, the Olympic gold medalist, giving speeches. It’s still so freaking weird.”
Davis-Woodhall is also still deciding on a more permanent location for her gold medal, which currently resides in the Olympian’s purse. “Yes, it goes everywhere with me,” she tells PEOPLE. “I’m sure he’ll have a home, a dedicated home in our office or something, but right now he’s just living in my purse.”
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The couple, who married in a Texas vineyard in October 2022, recently moved to Kansas. Davis-Woodhall says they did so after their mutual coach took a job at Kansas State University. “Hunter and I thought it was best to follow him and continue our track career as we want to go to LA 2028. [Olympics].”
Davis-Woodhall says the change of scenery has been “nice” and that she enjoys the slower pace of life in Kansas. “I like the countryside, I like not being in a big city – that’s not my style.”
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Tara Davis celebrates with Hunter Woodhall on day nine of the 2020 US Olympic Track and Field Team Trials on June 26, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon.
Steph Chambers/Getty
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As she looks ahead to 2025, the Texas-born athlete says she’s working on a new goal. “It will be easy to embrace the feeling of being the new Olympic champion, and just go out and jump and compete just for the joy of it.”
Now that she’s won gold, Davis-Woodhall says, “There’s nothing hanging over my head like, ‘I have to be this, I have to have this.’ 2025 should just be a year of growth and rebuilding what we did this year.”
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Source: HIS Education