Last Sunday at the second day of world championships in Tokyo, Tara Davis-Woodhall was in a familiar position. She commanded how her competitors would try to react as she continued to push boundaries in the women’s long jump final.
A world title was on the line, but also a chance to erase some of the sting of not getting true Olympic glory at Japan National Stadium — the same site as world champ — back in 2021.
But in this instance she stuck to the plan.
She was animated.
Poised.
She roped the crowd in and absorbed their energy. In return, they would witness another of her engineered feats.
And by her fourth attempt — a world leading 7.13m — she knew the benchmark was higher and the others would have to settle for the other areas of the podium.
She had already touched gold in Paris and national titles, but this was a Tokyo redemption arc. Either a close of a chapter or another page in the story — and now she’s telling it.
