Tara Davis-Woodhall Suffers Severe Concussion After Head-On Car Collision

Olympic and world long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall said she is suffering a "severe concussion" after a head-on car collision while driving to practice, and she told reporters on Wednesday that she is "living day to day" and has "not trained at all because of this."

“I have a severe concussion. I’m not really sure where I am in my head right now.”

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The 27-year-old American said her vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with another car and that both vehicles were traveling at about 30 km/h, while other coverage put the speed at about 20 mph.

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Davis-Woodhall said she is uncertain about the Ultimate Championships in Budapest, with the event scheduled for September 11-13, and she described the timing as "the worst possible moment" because she was at the peak of her preparation.

In a separate report, she said she is "lucky and blessed to be alive" after the "very scary" collision and that she has been unable to train since the accident.

The BBC added that the championships in Hungary start on 11 September and that athletes will compete for a top prize of £111,000.

Davis-Woodhall said her participation at next week’s World Athletics Ultimate Championship is in doubt after she revealed she was involved in a head-on collision while driving to practice, and she wrote, "Luckily I walked away without any major injuries."

She told reporters on Wednesday, "At this point I'm working with my team and doctors to get healthy, but I'm not sure if I will be ready to compete at Ultimate Championships next week," and she said she was "not able to practise" due to the concussion.

Image: Athletics Weekly

In a Reuters report carried by The Star, she said she had yet to decide whether she would compete and added, "This decision is very difficult for me."

The Independent quoted her describing the crash as "very scary" and said she pulled into a parking lot and that "this lady just made a turn," with both cars totalled.

NBC Sports reported she said she was "physically OK" but that "Mentally, something’s going on in there," while also noting the collision happened at about 20 miles per hour.

The Ultimate Championships are described as the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship taking place in Budapest from September 11-13, and Davis-Woodhall is listed as the lead content creator across the event’s build-up and coverage.

“It features a prize pot of $10 million, the largest in track and field history, with each winner pocketing $150,000.”

The Star

The Star reported the competition features a prize pot of $10 million, with each winner pocketing $150,000, while ESPN Philippines said athletes will compete for $150,000 first prizes.

The Independent also said the event boasts a $10m prize purse, the largest in track and field history, with winners receiving $150,000, and it framed Davis-Woodhall’s role as lead content creator for promoting athletics’ biggest stars.

Botswana’s Olympic 200 metres champion Letsile Tebogo said the competition’s appeal includes that athletes in his event will select their own lane, with draw order based on world ranking, and he told reporters, "I'm always being told on which lane I'm going to be in."

Pole vault world record-holder Mondo Duplantis said he backed the concept from the outset and told reporters, "It was about time to innovate a bit within athletics to have this sort of championships."