Remember how magical the Summer Games were in the City of Light? We witnessed numerous thrilling moments on the world’s grandest stage. But nothing comes close to the euphoric feeling of bagging one’s first Olympic gold. We know Tara Davis-Woodhall would agree. During the 2020 Tokyo Games, the long jumper placed fifth in the event with a leap of 6.84 meters. However, in Paris, the 25-year-old stunned the crowds when her winning leap of 7.10 meters was good enough for the coveted medal.

Watching her fall back into the sandpit will forever be etched in everyone’s mind. More so, her running to her husband, Hunter Woodhall, shortly after as he tearfully holds her is just as iconic. As the dust settles on her impressive sprint to glory, the track and field athlete has shed her usual easy-going persona to speak up about what she loves the most – her sport. Only this time, 4x Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson is on the receiving end of her ire. What could have caused this? 

Tara Davis-Woodhall claps back at the track legend

On November 27, the 57-year-old spoke to BBC about his revolutionary track and field league, the Grand Slam Track. However, one of his comments didn’t sit well with Tara Davis-Woodhall. The track legend stated he believed he could save track, not track and field. On November 28, the 25-year-old shared a post highlighting these comments to her Instagram story on Thursday, captioned, “Oh boy”. Shortly after, she shared her honest take on why this was an issue. She started on a happy note, “First of all, Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for everything. I’m thankful for my sport,” she stated with a smile as Hunter Woodhall drove around. 

However, she did have one thing to add. “About my sport, it doesn’t need saving at all. It’s actually… Michael, you’re ruining the sport if you’re trying to ‘save’ just track,” she exclaimed. But she wasn’t done yet. The Olympian was miffed by the terms being used separately. She reiterated the sport was called track & field for a reason. “The field events actually do have a lot of impact to the sport,” she continued before making a subtle reference to her Olympic gold-worthy performance in Paris earlier this year. 

Tara Davis-Woodhall calmly expressed that the sport didn’t need Johnson’s saving. She drove the point home by stating, “You’re long gone. Your time has passed. If you wanted to change the sport, you should have changed it a long time ago. Instead, you were skipping out of the sport.” Hunter Woodhall agreed with his Olympian wife and reiterated that his statements did nothing but get a rise out of people. He added that no one cared and that the sport was doing fine. What could have led to Michael Johnson’s conclusion?  

The 57-year-old’s brainchild particularly focuses on track. In fact, the idea was initially well-loved by the masses, which even led to massive funding. But that was then. Numerous particulars of the event are now being put into place. However, financial concerns have caused some friction. The estimated annual expense for the league comes up to a whopping $15.2 million, including expenses for 48 athletes, travel costs, the enormous prize pot, and more. 

Additionally, this adds up to 50% of the GST budget, which makes this a difficult spot to be in. Could this have led to some skepticism from Michael Johnson? We won’t know. But the track legend told BBC that he loved the sport. While he understands that focusing on one of the elements may not sit well with most, telling the world to understand a particular aspect doesn’t work either. However, Tara Davis-Woodhall isn’t the only athlete who had a bone to pick with Johnson.

Noah Lyles isn’t impressed by Grand Slam Track

Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track has left quite an impression on the world. Set to debut in April 2025, the track and field league boasts a massive prize pool. Track legends and sprinters were on board with the revolutionary event. However, it isn’t surprising that Noah Lyles stood out from the crowd. One of the two things the Olympian hasn’t been happy about lately is the lack of funding for track and field athletes and the lack of marketing. 

By the looks of it, GST seems to have covered at least one of those issues. So, why is the 27-year-old unimpressed, you ask? His biggest peeve with the league is that it hasn’t signed broadcasting rights yet. While GST started with a $30 million investment, they haven’t found a partner yet. All that was announced was that Citius Mag would stream the event via their YouTube Channel. Even though this could include social media, articles/newsletters, live shows, and more, no major media partnerships or broadcast deals have been announced.

However, Noah Lyles believed this could limit the league’s ability to tackle the marketability for athletes who need to grow their global brands. So, while GST has framed itself as the solution for the underwhelming pay structures, it currently doesn’t deliver on the lack of media clarity. In fact, given how the league would go against the Diamond League and World Athletics’ Ultimate Championship, the lack of a broadcast partner could prove to be a major issue.

Despite Michael Johnson’s effort to breathe some life into the sport, his call to exclude the other half of the sport didn’t sit well with Jazmine Sawyers. She reiterated that revolutionizing the sport without field events would be impossible. Additionally, 2x Olympic Discus champion Valarie Allman stated that field eventers want to compete the most. Like Tara Davis-Woodhall, she hoped that new competitions would understand that track and field is a total package. Do you agree with the athletes?