American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall finished her final long jump knowing she had captured gold. She stood up, mouth agape with a smile, then fell backward into the sand in celebration.
Davis-Woodhall toppled the reigning Olympic champ, German Malaika Mihambo, with a 7.10-meter jump Thursday to capture her first Olympic gold and her first medal of any kind in the Olympics.
The cowboy hat-wearing long jumper had already had the gold locked up before she made her final jump and could be seen fighting back tears before making her final dash down the runway.
“I’ve dreamed of this moment my entire life, 4 years old when I started track and field,” Davis-Woodhall told Reuters. “I’ve been telling myself all year: ‘8-0-8 [Aug. 8], that’s the day we win the Olympics.’ ”
Mihambo won the silver medal with her jump of 6.98, and American Jasmine Moore took home the bronze with a jump of 6.96 meters.
Davis-Woodhall opened the competition with a Round 1 jump of 6.93 and quickly powered out of the gate in Round 2, when she crossed the 7-meter mark with a 7.05.
