Syracuse’s Hunter Woodhall is preparing for Paris Paralympics
Aug 22, 2024, 6:51 PM | Updated: 10:52 pm
SYRACUSE — There is no way anyone could have seen this coming. Even Hunter Woodhall admits it is quite the story.
After having his legs amputated at 11 months old because of a birth defect, doctors weren’t sure if Woodhall would ever walk. Instead, he is running.
And he remembers the first time he ever felt that freedom.
“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,” Woodhall said. “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.”
Now, Woodhall, from Syracuse, is about to compete in his third Paralympic Games in Paris.
“I am in the best place I have ever been athletically and mentally, so I am excited to compete and race and have a good time and execute,” he said.
Woodhall won a 200-meter Silver Medal and a 400-meter Bronze Medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. He followed that up with another 400-meter Bronze Medal in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Getting a Gold Medal in Paris would be great, but Woodhall said he doesn’t define his success by winning medals.
“Amazing things can happen when you find something you love, and you really just show up and do your best every single day,” he said.
Woodhall had one of his best days at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, not as an athlete but as a fan and husband to Tara Davis-Woodhall.
She won Gold in the long jump, and their celebration is one of the enduring images of the Paris Olympics. She ran into the crowd and hugged him while both cheered as loud as they could.
“She is so talented, and she is so technical with what she does,” he said. “She has taught me so much and has made me so much of a better athlete and person.”
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 08: Tara Davis-Woodhall of Team United States celebrates winning the gold medal after competing in the Women’s Long Jump Final on day thirteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 08, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
She will undoubtedly be there for him when it is his turn to compete, as will many people who have followed his career and story.
Woodhall is proud to show others what is possible and thinks the Paralympic Games are a great way to do that.
“The Paralympics are awesome, and I think people are starting to realize that, and that has been one of our biggest goals is just to grow the sport,” he said.
The Opening Ceremony of the Paris Paralympics is Aug. 28.
