Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — "It's OK to dream big, and if you've got a big dream, make it bigger," Hunter Woodhall told patients and families at Shriners Children's Salt Lake City hospital on Wednesday.
Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhall, of Syracuse, and his wife, Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall, encouraged Utah children, telling them anything they want to do is possible.
The group cheered for the couple as they showed off their gold medals — Woodhall for the 400-meter run and Davis-Woodhall for the long jump. They provided opportunities for individual photos and signatures with each child.
Woodhall told the audience, many of whom held signs saying, "I'm a Shriners kid too!" that Shriners Hospital for Children in Salt Lake City is where he got his first set of running blades.
"This is where I started my running journey. This is where I learned how to run. And a lot of the people that are in this hospital helping you guys out, encouraging you, are the same people who helped me out, helped me get to where I am today — so thank you guys so much," he said.
In his post-race interview at the Olympics, Woodhall was asked about whether he had comments for the children watching him from the Salt Lake City hospital, and he said he planned to visit them soon. And they were looking forward to the visit.
He raced the children around the hospital entrance on Wednesday in multiple heats, broken up by age and equipment — and gracefully did not win a single race.
Cole, one of the racers in a wheelchair, said, "You're going down, Hunter!" as they prepared for the wheelchair race. Woodhall and his wife joined the others in wheelchairs. Cole won the race.
Cole's mother, Joann Spencer, said when he was a baby she told a therapist her goal was for him to crawl with his arms and legs, and the therapist's response was to question whether the goal was realistic. That's when they decided to find somewhere else to help them, and she said Shriners has helped them reach for their goals.
"The people at Shriners are amazing," she said.
She said Cole was so excited to meet the Olympians. She said he made bracelets for Woodhall and his wife, gold bracelets to celebrate their medals and red, white, blue and gold USA bracelets.
Spencer said they were part of the group watching his race from Shriners. She said Woodhall is an example for her son of someone who is reaching for his goals.
Woodhall told the children he and his wife sat down at the start of 2024 and made goals to go to the Olympics and both win gold medals. He said a husband and wife earning medals in the Paralympic and Olympic Games hadn't been done before, and people told them their expectations were too high, but they kept reaching.
He said they made a plan and worked hard to reach the goal, getting up each day to train, pushing through injuries and giving up evening Netflix for some sleep.
Woodhall said it was hard work, but looking back, they are proud of themselves.
"What I want you guys to remember is it's OK to go slow, right? These things take time. It's going to take time to develop. It's going to take time to find what you'd love to do, but it's all going to work out in the end," he told the children.
Woodhall encouraged the children to compete with themselves and work toward beating their own records rather than worrying about others. He also encouraged them to lean on other people and look for advice and support.
"When you see us on the track, yeah, we're alone. But there's so many hours behind the scenes when we have other people helping us out," he said.
Woodhall said in an interview that it is "so special" to be back at Shriners Hospital, a place he said he has been associated with his whole life and where running started for him.
"It's so good to come back, like on the pinnacle of that journey," he said.
Davis-Woodhall said she hoped children watching them at the Olympics had fun and could tell she was having fun too.
"I try to do it stress-free and just do it with the smile on my face. And definitely, the advice I would give to kids is to never give up on your dreams and to have fun doing it," she said.
Woodhall said some of the greatest mentors who have helped him shared wisdom from their experiences and said he has seen every experience is an opportunity to learn and teach others.
Many of those mentors, he said, were at Shriners. He said the people at Shrines try to help their patients not just live a normal life, but "chase their dreams and do incredible things."
"I'm back here because somebody, when I was young, took a chance on me and believed that I could do something special, and I did, and I have them to thank for that," Woodhall said.
He joked before the races that he might be inspiring the children "a little too much" because the race sounded like it might be getting pretty competitive. But he said it is "awesome" to be able to show the kids what they are capable of.
"It's OK to dream big and shoot for the stars and believe that you are, you know, fast and strong and awesome," he said.
