POCATELLO — It was love at first meet.

Tara Davis-Woodhall, the top-ranked female long jumper in the world, and her husband, gold medal Paralympian Hunter Woodhall, first connected while competing in the Simplot Games at Idaho State University’s then-Holt Arena in 2017 — a chance encounter that would blossom into one of track and field’s most inspiring love stories.

On Thursday, it was announced the Woodhalls will return to what is now the ICCU Dome as visiting Olympians for the 46th version of the annual Simplot Games, one of the pre-eminent national high school indoor track and field meets. This year’s Simplot Games will be held at the ICCU Dome Feb. 19-21.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hunter and Tara back to the Simplot Games as this year’s honored Olympic and Paralympic athletes,” said Kristi Borgholthaus, executive director of the Simplot Games. “Their journey — from meeting here in Pocatello at our Simplot Games in 2017 to becoming Olympic and Paralympic champions — embodies the spirit of perseverance and excellence that inspires every young athlete who steps on our track.”

Barb Woodhall, Hunter’s mother who now lives in Fish Haven, a small town in Southeastern Idaho just north of the Utah border, told the Idaho State Journal in 2024 how her son and Tara first met at the Simplot Games in 2017. Hunter came to compete from Utah, Tara from California.

“He thought she was out of his league, but he told his friend that he was going to marry her,” Barb told the Journal. “Then she actually slid into his DMs.”

So much has happened to the couple, who made international headlines at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024, since that first meeting in Pocatello.

Both went on to outstanding collegiate careers, continuing their long-distance relationship while attending different schools. They suffered through the impacts of COVID-19 on their competitive careers, got married in 2022, and then of course won gold medals in their respective events in Paris in 2024 — Tara in the Olympic long jump, Hunter in the Paralympic 400 meters.

Since then, the couple has moved to Kansas, where Tara is now an assistant coach at Kansas State University. They are continuing their popular YouTube channel while brand-building through a number of endorsement deals.

They’re also training together for the next Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will take place in Los Angeles in 2028.

Tara returned to Tokyo for the World Championships in 2025, where she competed in her first Olympics in 2021, finishing a disappointing sixth. Calling it a “redemption tour,” she won the gold medal at the World Championships with a world-leading jump of 7.13 meters (23 feet, 4 3/4 inches).

Meanwhile Hunter, who was born with a congenital deficiency called fibular hemimelia that eventually resulted in him having both legs amputated at the ankles, has been taking some time off from competing while diving head-long into the couple’s business ventures. They have recently signed marketing deals with Nike, Lululemon and Celsius.

Both have become media stars in their own right. Tara recently appeared in an interview with NBC Sports, where she talked about how she names her gold medals. Her Olympic gold medal, for example, is named Felipe, and Felipe “goes everywhere with me,” she said.

We’ll see if Felipe returns to Pocatello with her next month.

Hunter, meanwhile, filmed a six-minute video for CBS Sports, which entailed a “letter to his younger self,” where he reassures the boy that his disability was meant not to isolate him from other children, but rather to allow him to stand out.

“You’ll become one of the fastest runners in the world — not despite your legs, but because of them,” Hunter says in the video. “As amazing as the medals and the world championships will feel, they won’t be the best part of your journey. That will be the people you meet along the way. Your parents, your siblings who never let you give up. Your friends who will remind you that you belong. And the girl you’ll fall in love with, the one who will become your wife, your partner, and your biggest fan.”

Then Hunter details his relationship with Tara — the woman he first met in Pocatello.

“Meeting Tara will introduce you to a kind of love you didn’t even know was possible,” he says in the video. “And the sport you once leaned on for survival will be the very thing that brings you together. You’ll see you weren’t meant to blend in — you were meant to stand out. You were put in this situation to prove that it’s possible to overcome.”

The Woodhalls will join other Olympic athletes, including Andre Phillips, Willie Banks, Stacy Dragila and Tyson Gunter at the Simplot Games. The couple will take part in a moderated Q&A session at the annual Dick Fosbury Breakfast, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tickets are required for the breakfast and can be purchased at the Simplot Games store (www.simplotgames.com/games-store).

An estimated 2,000 high school athletes from across the U.S. will compete in the Simplot Games next month. Registration is now open and athletes and teams can sign up online at https://simplotgames.com/register/.