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Tara Davis, UT Longhorns Track and Field Legend on her professional career and competing at Olympics {CLIFFS BELOW}

Serenity Douglas

OrangeBloods Host
Staff
Aug 15, 2021
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Austin, TX
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It was great getting to interview my good friend and former teammate. I've watched her go through so much, so watching her success is a real tear jerker for me. Cliffs Below!
-Indoor/Outdoor collegiate record holder and NCAA Champion
-Outdoor record was set at Texas Relays. Side note: The Long jump outdoor record was previously held by one of the all-time greatest athletes, Jackie Joyner Kersee which was set 36 years ago. Therefore Tara Davis was the only other athlete to touch 23ft in college.
-Olympian (finished 6th in Tokyo 2020)
-Bowerman finalist
-Fiancee to Paralympian Hunter Woodhall
-When asked if it felt surreal she said she wakes up every morning feeling like she's in a dream because she just remembers going to practice in her Texas uniform on and now she's waking up and having to do things on her own, practice is different because she's not with a collegiate team, but ultimately life is fun and she's getting out more.
-Because she's no longer in college, I asked what new hobbies she's picked up. Tara says she's still working for social media so that takes up a big part of her day, also Netflix and DIY projects around the house.
-When I asked her biggest difference between moving from Austin to Arkansas, she immediately answers with "there's no traffic!" and goes on to say how she can get from one side of the town to another in ten minutes. There's no freeways and highways and that's how she likes it.
-We see Tara's theatrics and excitement on the track, but I asked her to go into personal detail what she was going through before the success. Tara says if you were to tell her she accomplished everything she did back in 2019, she would've "laughed in your face". She said there was no way she thought she could accomplish what she did in the mental state she was in. She was battling depression, and self awareness but 2021 she changed her mindset with the new season approaching and she wanted to be her best self.
-I took Tara back to her lowest point when she opened up to me about wanting to stop running and become "a housewife" with Hunter and help work his giant hoodies business because she didn't see track working anymore. Tara said at that point she decided to quit but then one night she decided that she doesn't want to cry anymore and she's living life for a reason.
-I asked her what her process for getting the motivation back looked like. She said it was a very long process, she would majority of the time not want to get out of bed, she would tell Coach Floreal she couldn't come to practice, or if she did she'd be in a huge hoodie, and continued on to say her diet was effected also. Then she started seeing a therapist who helped her from the first time she got to Texas. She said she was always turned off from therapist because she didn't think she needed it, but it ended up helping her a lot.
-Tara said what she loved about her therapist is that she didn't know who she was, so she got to start from scratch at explaining her life to her without the woman being biased compared to talking to a family member, or close friend.
-Like mentioned before Tara loves to keep the energy in her jumps (screaming, excitement, interacting with the crowd) , I asked if being that way helps her get the nerves out. She said absolutely and if she's not bouncing off the walls and talking to people then she's nervous such as the Olympic final.
-I like this quality about Tara because of the stigma around acting that way in competition, coaches will say you're not focused however her most focused self is being energetic. I asked what she would say to athletes who are like her, she stated " Please just be you and don't let people try to control you because you're not going to be able to grow into yourself if you let people control you" she went on to say that she was always told she was hyper but she has ADHD and throughout her life she's always been told in the classroom to sit down but that way of learning never worked for her because she could've focused more if she could just stand up.
-Tara continued on to say that she's this way in her sport because Long Jump isn't an eye catcher like the 100m therefore she's bringing entertainment to the sport... she feels like she can change the way people look at LJ.
- Tara emphasized that the women she jumps against have been jumping 23ft, and she is not the first one. However she's had fans ask her if she broke the world record! That has made her realize how much people do not pay attention to her event. 'Please give them{her competitors} their credit because I'm just trying to catch up to them."
-I asked Tara if she could think of a point in her life she wishes she could turn of social media and not be the Tara Davis. She said yes currently because sometimes she wishes she didn't have to pick up her phone and put her face on the internet, or go to the grocery store and get recognized. She assures me that she does enjoy it because it means all her hard work is being seen but sometimes she wishes she could have her own privacy.
-Because things can get overwhelming, I asked her how she remains zin through all of it. Tara says she has her fiancee who is going through the same things.
-Tara spoke about how she was not herself in the Tokyo final, I asked her to take me through what was going through her head as she was on the runway. Tara says she kept jumping but she wasn't going any further and it was frustrating because she was doing everything right but she wasn't going anywhere. She said because of that she began to tighten up and ended up finishing 6th.
-I asked if she was proud of herself for making it to the Olympic final and she said during the time she was not happy with how she performed. She said she kept trying to reassure herself that the Olympics was just another meet to the point of being so unsatisfied with what place she got, it was hard for her to realize that it was the OLYMPICS. After coming home to Hunter, and doing her research about 6th place in the Olympic final she was finally able to feel proud of herself.
-I mentioned the NIL rule being passed to Tara because she has been an influencer throughout college, and I wanted her to put in perspective how many deals she missed put on while under NCAA rules. Tara explained that she turned down at least 50k during her junior to senior year of college and every time she wanted to accept a deal, she was afraid of getting kicked out the NCAA. She said it was annoying that she couldn't have this other stream of income (social media) simply because someone (NCAA) said no and because she signed a piece of paper (NLI). She continued on to say her senior year she got really irritated about it because her name/face was being put on the NCAA website with her permission or compensation. She said it was unfair because the NCAA can make money off of her, but she can't make money off of herself. She says she's excited for NIL because the student-athletes get to learn self worth, taxes and how to market themselves.
-Tara's first meet is January 29th at the Millrose Games in New York. I asked if she'll be hurdling again and she said she spoke to her coach about it, and it will be in the near future.
-She said she's excited for her first pro meet, and she's excited to be out there to feel the different vibes compared to the last time she's been at The Armory which was in high school. Her goal is to just get down the runway because it's the first meet and she's not really sure where she's at.

 
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