University of Arkansas senior Hunter Woodhall, a double-amputee who is a 3-time All-American for the Razorbacks in the 4x400, has opted to forgoe his last year of college in favor of turning professional, he announced on Saturday.
Woodhall has not announced an agent or sponsor as of yet, but the 2017 Syracuse (UT) High School graduate, who turns 22 on February 17, will make his professional debut in a 400 meter field at the American Track League on Sunday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
"I'm coming into the pro level with a bang," Woodhall wrote in a statement. "They have some of the top names in the sport racing here this weekend. It's a great feeling and I couldn't have had it any other way. I'm super psyched about it, thankful and blessed."
Beyond the track, Woodhall is a widely-known social media influencer. He has 2.6 million followers on Tik Tok, 224,000 more on Instagram, and nearly 20,000 on Twitter. Along with his girlfriend, University of Texas' Tara Davis, the pair also have a joint YouTube account that sports over 210,000 subscribers.
It will be a fitting debut on Sunday, considering Woodhall, who owns outdoor PRs of 46.22 in the 400m and 21.33 in the 200m, will be competing in at his collegiate facility.
Woodhall also owns an 800m best of 1:50.68.
On an international stage, Woodhall earned a silver medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in the men's 200m (T44 classification) and a bronze in the 400m (T44) when he was just 17 years old. He was born with Fibular hemimelia, a birth defect where the fibular bones are missing.
The Utah native last competed in February of 2020, producing a 400m time of 47.76 at the SEC Indoor Championships. He also helped lift the Razborbacks to a second-place performance in the 4x400.
"I think it's been building up to this moment and it always felt like something was a possibility, but I never thought it would be a reality," he said. "Now it's all culminating."
MileSplit first wrote about Woodhall's collegiate journey in 2017, revealing he would become the first double-amputee athlete to earn a full scholarship to an NCAA Division I university. In recent years, Woodhall has updated MileSplit on his journey in collegiate track and field.
Woodhall Runs a 47.62 in 2017
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University of Arkansas senior Hunter Woodhall, a double-amputee who is a 3-time All-American for the Razorbacks in the 4x400, has opted to forgoe his last year of college in favor of turning professional, he announced on Saturday.
Woodhall has not announced an agent or sponsor as of yet, but the 2017 Syracuse (UT) High School graduate, who turns 22 on February 17, will make his professional debut in a 400 meter field at the American Track League on Sunday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
