Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall has revealed she is “lucky and blessed to be alive” after being involved in a serious head-on collision while driving to training last week. The crash left her with a severe concussion and an uncertain road to this month’s World Athletics Ultimate Championships.
The 27-year-old American, who is the reigning world champion in the long jump, described the crash as “very scary.” Both vehicles were travelling at approximately 20 miles per hour and both were written off in the impact.
Davis-Woodhall said she walked away without any major injuries but that the concussion has prevented her from training since the accident.
“Luckily I walked away without any major injuries,” she wrote on social media.
“At this point I’m working with my team and doctors to get healthy, but I’m not sure if I will be ready to compete at Ultimate Championships next week.”
The timing is particularly painful. Davis-Woodhall said she was at the peak of her fitness heading into the crash.
“I’m as fast as I’ve ever been. I’m as strong as I’ve ever been. So this decision is very difficult for me. I don’t know where I am right now.”
The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships begins in Budapest on September 11. This brings together Olympic, world, and Diamond League champions alongside the year’s leading performers in a three-day end-of-season event. The top prize is £111,000. Davis-Woodhall is the defending world champion and among the headline names expected to compete.
She has not ruled herself out entirely but gave no indication of when a final decision would be made. Further updates, she said, would follow.
Davis-Woodhall won long jump gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics and followed it with the world title in Tokyo a year later. She was building toward the peak moment of what has been a remarkable two years.
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