Tara Davis-Woodhall, Hunter Woodhall detail intense training routine for 2024 Summer Olympics
Olympian duo Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall don’t get much time to themselves these days. As the 2024 Paris Olympic Games are about to get underway, the husband-wife duo are in the thick of it with training and conditioning. Paralympic sprinter Hunter, and long jumper Tara, are set to compete in their first Olympics as a married couple. They posit it will work in their favor, rather than pose a hindrance.
While the two will be competing in different categories, they look forward to coming together through their passion for sports and their perseverance within their fields.
“I think it's more of an advantage for us and we have each other to lean on,” says Hunter, “and really just to be there for each other, and support each other. And I think the challenges has been the past nine months, just getting to this point, getting fit, getting ready, qualifying for the games, and all that stuff.”
We caught up with Hunter and Tara over the phone, ahead of a shift they were working at a Raising Cane’s restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Though they only take one day off a week per training – usually to drink wine and stream shows – they jumped at the opportunity to work a shift at Cane’s, using their current favorite show, “The Bear,” as preparation for their time behind the counter.
RELATED: John Cena's cameo on ‘The Bear’ crushed by critics: why that's wrong
“Tara actually took me to my first Cane’s back in California, and it's just been a staple here in Fayetteville,” says Hunter.
The couple notes that they are now getting into the “technical side” of training for the upcoming games.
“During fall, we do all the hard work to get our strength up, and our power and speed up,” says Tara, “But now, we're students of the craft right now. We’ve got to be head down, working hard, and learning all the new ways to perfect our craft.”
Hunter and Tara work out for “three to five hours each day,” spending six days of the week on the track, and three of those six days also in the weight room. The duo then reserves “one to three hours” for recovery after their workout.
RELATED: Livvy Dunne sees Simone Biles 'revenge tour' for 2024 Paris Olympics
In addition to training, the two also have a YouTube channel called “Tara and Hunter,” on which the couple documents their big wins, important career milestones, as well as intimate moments in their life as a married couple.
But anyone with an online presence can tell you that sharing moments online will prompt haters left and right – even to those not bothering or offending anyone with their content. The couple has definitely seen their fair share of negativity, but the support from fans overshadows any sort of vitriol.
“The biggest thing that we try to do is just be authentic,” says Hunter. “We just try to be ourselves. And then we never really have to question the things we're doing because it's just us. There's a lot of negativity on the internet, and it's hard to ignore sometimes. But one thing we said at the Olympic trials was that in a stadium full of people screaming, it's really hard to hear a few voices talking about some negative stuff. So we try to apply that principle to the internet, and be like, ‘Hey, if this was a stadium, you wouldn't be able to hear these few voices say something negative.’”
“We know what we do and what we stand for,” adds Tara. “So the outside noise doesn't bother us when we're inside.”
— Enjoy free dish of rich and fabulous players with The Athlete Lifestyle on SI —
Holy moly: Insanely jacked 49ers rookie proves NFL players aren’t human (PHOTO)
Adorable: Livvy Dunne sports cute Skenes ‘30’ cowboy-boot tank for All-Star night
Smokin’: Angel Reese, Kysre Gondrezick light up Vegas: oh, Jaylen Brown too
2H2H: Zendaya rocks Miami Vice look after Harry Potter fit at 2024 Wimbledon
Groovin’: Cameron Brink busts sweet dance moves with teammate Rickea Jackson