Harrowing footage shows moment USA Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall suffers horrific head-on car crash: 'Lucky and blessed to be alive'

19 hours ago 35

By ISABEL BALDWIN, US ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR and ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: 15:19 BST, 5 September 2026 | Updated: 15:25 BST, 5 September 2026

Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall shared the moment a car careened into her vehicle in a horrific head-on collision. 

The long jumper suffered a concussion in a head-on car collision while heading to a training session last week.

Davis-Woodhall revealed her injuries in a call with reporters on Wednesday and posted video of the crash, taken from a dashcam in her car, on social media.

In the video, a car turning right out of a parking lot veers into Davis-Woodhall's lane and hits her car almost head-on, crumpling the front of both cars and deploying the airbags.

The 27-year-old American guessed that both cars were going about 20 mph.

'I'm lucky and blessed to be alive right now, and no life-threatening injuries,' Davis-Woodhall said, showing off bruises on her arms. 'I don't know where my head's at now. Just taking it day by day.'

Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall shared the moment a car careened into her vehicle

The car hit her almost head-on, crumpling the front of both cars and deploying the airbags

Now, the athlete is unsure if she will compete again this year with the first edition of the World Ultimate championships, a best-of-the-best event, closing out the 2026 season. 

Davis-Woodhall revealed that she has not trained since the incident with the event now less than a week away.  

She said it left her status for next week's Ultimate World Championships, where athletes will compete for $150,000 first prizes, uncertain.

'I'm at the peak of my training right now. I'm as fast as I've ever been. I'm as strong as I have ever been, so this decision is very difficult for me,' Davis-Woodhall added. 

She qualified for the event with her victories at last September's World Championships in Tokyo, and by winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics - where she became the fourth American woman to earn that long jump crown, after Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1988), Brittney Reese (2012) and Tianna Bartoletta (2016). 

ATHLOS, a women's-only track league formed in 2024, is also hosting their London meet one week after Ultimate World Championships.

She said she was rounding into top form before the crash, acknowledging the unfortunate timing. 

'I'm physically OK,' she said. 'Mentally, something's going on in there. I've seen my doctors and my physios. Everyone is trying to get me back (onto the track). It's really unfortunate timing.'

Davis-Woodhall was planning to return next week to Budapest, Hungary - the place where she finished second at the 2023 world championships. Coming up short stoked a fire that led her to win the Olympics the next year, then worlds in Tokyo in 2025.

Now, her plans are on hold.

'I went through something unfortunate,' she said. 'Now I'm trying to figure out what I can do to get myself back on the horse.'

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