Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall from the USA suffered a severe concussion in a car accident. Malaika Mihambo’s rival announced this at a media round a good week before the inaugural Ultimate Championships. But she “fortunately escaped without any major injuries,” emphasized the 27-year-old. But the world champion still seemed visibly moved. The accident happened last week on the way to a training session.
“I’m currently working with my team and doctors to get fit again, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to compete at the Ultimate Championships next week,” Davis-Woodhall wrote on Instagram. The new athletics event will take place in Budapest from September 11th to 13th. A total of 10 million US dollars, or the equivalent of more than 8.6 million euros, will be distributed. The winners alone will receive $150,000 each.
“Blessed that I’m still alive”
According to his own statement, Davis-Woodhall was on his way to training when the collision between the two vehicles occurred. She was in a parking lot when the other car turned into her lane. “We were both traveling at about 20 miles per hour. Both cars are totaled. I can’t say much more about the accident, but it is very scary. I’m lucky and blessed to be alive and not have any life-threatening injuries,” Davis-Woodhall said.
The Olympic champion in Paris said that this accident had particularly affected her mentally. “Physically I’m fine. Mentally there’s just something, something is really going on. The timing is really unfortunate. I’m at the peak of my training right now. I’m faster than I’ve ever been before. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been before,” said Davis-Woodhall, who beat Malaika Mihambo to silver at the Summer Games two years ago in the French capital. The German long jumper will definitely miss the Ultimate Championships due to a torn muscle fiber.