Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall has decided to end her 2026 season after suffering “severe concussion” in a car crash.
The decision means the 27-year-old American will miss this week’s World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Hungary.
“This one hurts. I’m sad, disappointed and just hurt by all of it,” wrote Davis-Woodhall on social media., external “I know this has to be part of my story.
“There has to be a reason for this. I’ll never questions God’s path for me. I will be back. Just a hitch in my giddy-up.”
Davis-Woodhall won long jump gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, before topping the podium at the Worlds in Tokyo a year later.
She was involved in a “very scary” head-on collision in August when she was on her way to training.
Afterwards, she said her injuries were not life-threatening but that both cars, which were going at about 20mph, were written off.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Hungary starts on 11 September, with athletes competing for a top prize of £111,000.
The competition brings together Olympic, world and Diamond League champions, as well as the year’s leading performers in a three-day end-of-season event.
