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According to Arkansas’ KATV News, there’s a men’s track & field coach who admits his “mind is blown.” This describes Coach Chris Bucknam’s reaction to a sophomore sprinter for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Maybe it’s not that unusual for a coach to be impressed by or even awed by an extraordinary athlete. While Hunter Woodhall is an extraordinary athlete, he’s clearly an unusual one. Woodhall is an athlete who happens to be the first double amputee to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship in track and field.
Woodhall explains a greater purpose than winning races, “This whole journey and this whole reason I’m in college is to show people what’s possible.”
I believe what’s possible in his life will bring inspiration and hope to many — from athletic hopefuls to amputees needing a dose of hope and lots of folks in between.
As a two-time Paralympic medalist, Woodhall achieved first team all-American honors at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Outdoor Championships last spring while competing with traditional (non-amputee) runners. He already has earned a first place finish and has reached his own personal best indoors this winter.
He has earned such athletic success despite being a double amputee. Both his legs were amputated below the knee when he was a baby due to underdeveloped fibula (from knee to ankle).
Woodhall wisely claims, “No matter what situation you’re born with, no matter what situation you’re in in life, you’re the only one that can stop yourself from accomplishing your goals.”
He competed in several sports including skiing, soccer, and football before committing to track. Woodhall explained, “When I got my first pair of running legs, it’s just like this feeling of freedom. It’s hard to explain.”
When he chose to start sprinting in high school, there were doubters about his potential to win.
He admitted, “It was just people being content that I was showing up. ‘The kid without legs was running,’ and I would kind of get the sympathy clap.”
Doubters soon witnessed this unusual runner surpassing all expectations to win. Spectators watched him run and win! They watched him run faster and faster to win again and again! They watched as Woodhall ran to become state champion and as he kept running to become a state superstar.
There seemed to be no stopping him, so next he wanted to run in college competitions, however he needed scholarship offers. University of Arkansas happened to be “one of only a handful of power programs bold enough to recruit him.”
Woodhall understood, “It was really just a lack of knowledge of the situation. No one without legs has ever ran division one.”
Coach Bucknam noted his speed, of course, but he perceived that Woodhall had more to offer than speed alone. In addition were his mental fortitude and confidence.
Bucknam explained, “You gotta take some risks anyways if you want to be good, right? We were willing to take a risk with him.”
Woodhall liked what he saw at U of A and decided, “From my visit, being on campus, just the whole entire experience showed me this is the place I need to be. These people are going to fight for you.”
Bucknam admired not only Woodhall’s speed but also his boldness to compete in the SEC (Southeast Conference).
Woodhall recognized, “If you want to be the best, you gotta go to where the people are the best. You gotta beat the best,”
NCAA granted Woodhall special permission from the NCAA (think waiver) to compete with traditional runners. He struggled during his freshman season last winter, but this season is bringing improvement.
“He’s an NCAA all-American, and we just know the sky is the limit now,” Bucknam commented.
Striving to reach or exceed that limit seems to be something Woodhall is motivated to do for others. “If there’s somebody in the stands that maybe doesn’t believe in themselves or for whatever reason if they can see me run or whatever else I do, if I can inspire them to say, ‘you know what, let me go do something,’ that’s special to me…. That means more than times, medals, places, anything like that.”
Woodhall’s amazing attitude is full of hope… hope to run… hope to win… hope to inspire…. He’s an example to others who need hope to get in life’s race and maybe even dream of winning their own races. I think Hunter Woodhall is a champion worth cheering on — both on the track and in life.
(Quotes of Hunter Woodhall and Coach Chris Bucknam are from KATV News)