Newly hired Kansas State track coach takes Olympic gold in long jump for Team USA

Talk about making a splash as a new face on the Kansas State Wildcats coaching staff.

That’s what Tara Davis-Woodhall did Thursday in Paris, winning gold for Team USA with a leap of 7.10 meters in the women’s long jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Davis-Woodhall, 25, was one of multiple assistant coaching hires made public last week by new KSU track and field/cross country director Travis Geopfert, who joined the program earlier this summer.

It was Davis-Woodhall’s first Olympic medal of any kind, although she also competed in the Tokyo Olympics several years ago.

“I’m thrilled to have Tara joining us at K-State,” Geopfert said last week of Davis-Woodhall. “To say that she brings the energy is an understatement. I’ve loved coaching this young woman for the last three years and to bring her elite level experience to Manhattan is absolutely invaluable.”

Before landing her new role with the Wildcats, Davis-Woodhall was a long jumper for Texas (and therefore competed in college against K-State). She’s just the second Longhorn to take part in two Olympics, joining Canadian long jumper Richard Duncan.

Davis-Woodhall tries to bring a cowboy hat to every meet in which she competes in honor of her Texas background. She happily donned it in France on Thursday after her historic performance.

“She knows what it takes to be great,” Geopfert said. “She also fully understands the challenges of what life is like as both a student-athlete and as a professional athlete.