The three-time Paralympic medalist, who has 2.8 million followers on TikTok, 770,000 subscribers on YouTube and 402,000 followers on Instagram, is continuing to gain momentum as he prepares for his third Paralympic appearance. Before he was a Paralympian, Division I athlete or social media sensation, Woodhall is quick to tell people that he was also a Shriners Children’s National Patient Ambassador, and continues educating people about how the nonprofit healthcare system helped him achieve the success he has today.
Hunter’s journey with Shriners Children's started when he was still a baby. After being diagnosed with fibular hemimelia, a condition that causes a short or missing bone in the lower leg, his parents traveled to hospitals across the country looking for the best treatment options for him before finding Shriners Children’s. His doctors there were the first to recommend amputation of his legs in order to allow for a wider range of motion and prevent him from having to use a wheelchair. Throughout the course of his childhood, Shriners Children’s made dozens of prosthetics for Woodhall to help him compete in sports and daily activities.
“Man, my care with Shriners Children’s was just incredible,” Hunter said. “I can only say good things. There was so much support and so much belief. The amount of prosthetists I worked with who bet on me and took a little bit of time to invest in me, it means a lot because not many people had invested in me at that point in my life. It would be easier to count the ways Shriners didn’t help me with my athletics. Any time I went to them asking for a new prosthetic for whatever sport I was playing, they built one for me. I went to them and told them I was running 5Ks. They said, ‘We’ve never made a running blade, but let’s try it out.’ They weren’t doing this for the Hunter Woodhall people know today. They were doing it to help a kid try a sport that may not have amounted to anything. So to see the time and care they put into me was so inspiring.”
Woodhall went on to compete in the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics, winning silver in the 200-meter at the Games in Rio de Janeiro along with a bronze in the 400, before earning bronze at the Tokyo Games in the 400. He also received a Division I scholarship to the University of Arkansas, which has one of the best track and field programs in the country. So far in 2024, Woodhall won gold at the U.S. Paralympics National Championship in both the 100 and 400, and he set an American record in the 100. The 2024 Paris Paralympic trials are in July, and Woodhall has big plans for the Games.
Hunter puts in the work to train for the Paralympics.
Hunter and his wife, Tara, at the Shriners Children's Open with Patient Ambassadors from Shriners Children's
Shriners Children's created many sets of prosthetics for Hunter for sports and everyday use. Two are pictured here.
Anytime I went to them asking for a new prosthetic for whatever sport I was playing, they built one for me. I went to them and told them I was running 5Ks. They said, ‘We’ve never made a running blade, but let’s try it out.’
“I’m trying to go back and dominate at the Paralympics,” Woodhall said. “In my training, I’m practicing with the mindset of going back to win the whole thing. I’m excited. I’m prepared. I think this year I’m finally strong enough to win gold. The previous experience I’ve built, I think it’s going to help with the nerves. At the same time, I try to keep a fresh perspective on this summer’s Games.”
Woodhall said his time as one of Shriners Children’s two National Patient Ambassadors in 2012 taught him many valuable lessons that have elevated him as an athlete down the line. He said current Shriners Children’s patients and anyone with any type of difference from an able-bodied athlete should figure out what they love to do and pursue it. He added no matter the sport, a patient should talk to their prosthetist. Woodhall emphasized that at Shriners Children’s, they’re always behind the patient in any endeavor.
