Tara Davis-Woodhall is bringing the party to A-Town.
The Agoura High graduate took the world of track and field by storm over the course of a whirlwind two seasons, winning her first Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games in 2024 then following it up last summer by clinching her third straight global long jump title at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
Davis-Woodhall received a hero’s welcome in her return to Agoura on Feb. 28 for the third installment of the Tara Davis Invitational, a high-level, early season track meet for local high school athletes.
“I am so blessed to be able to have all of these accolades and so blessed to come home to my community, come home to people who I know supported me when I was out there,” Davis-Woodhall told The Star. “I feel the love.”
Hundreds of athletes and fans flowed through the meet-and-greet tent throughout opening hours of the meet last Saturday morning, posing for photos, getting autographs and chatting with the superstar leaper who made her legacy on the track they would compete on later in the day.
A gleeful Davis-Woodhall even led a group of distance runners in a song-and-dance rendition of the mid-2000s Soulja Boy classic “Crank That.”
“It’s not your average track meet — it’s food trucks, it’s music, it’s dancing,” Davis-Woodhall said. “It is all the fun stuff involved that I feel like track has kind of lost. As a professional athlete, it is very serious. It is very by the book. I just want to bring more joy and light to track and field.”
Success with joy. Chasing greatness, but having all the fun she can along the way.
It’s been the story of Davis-Woodhall’s track and field career for as far back as her dad, Ty Davis, can remember. He coached her through a high school career that included five state titles as well as state and national records in the long jump and the 100-meter hurdles.
“It’s 100% energy, all day long,” Ty Davis said with a laugh. “She lives in that chaos moment — that puts her in that best frame of mind. When she sees other people here laughing, having a good time, enjoying themselves, that gives her that adrenaline, that high, gets her endorphins going.
“It is good to be back and to be able to give some of that energy and that thanks to the community that helped raise her and make her who she is today.”
During a stoppage in competition, Davis-Woodhall presented Agoura High athletic director Clint Cummings with a check for $100,000 to go towards the Chargers’ track and field program.
“The flood of memories start to come back,” Davis said. “Those late nights, early days, the hard work, the doubt, the changing of this technique or that technique. For it to all come back to here is amazing. Everybody here is still a part of that journey.”
In the midst of a dominant stretch of competition on the global stage that has taken her across the world, Davis-Woodhall’s focus is right back where it all began.
The 26-year old superstar will take aim at her second Olympic gold medal when the Games come to Los Angeles in 2028.
“I wouldn’t be doing track and field right now if it wasn’t for L.A. 28,” Davis-Woodhall said. “It has inspired me and fueled me so much, especially knowing that I am from L.A. and I grew up just 45 minutes from the Coliseum. I’ll be back here training at Agoura.”
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Olympic champ Davis-Woodhall ‘feels the love’ in Agoura homecoming
Reporting by Dominic Massimino, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
