Midway through a video on his YouTube channel, as Hunter Woodhall takes viewers through what he describes as one of the most nerve-wracking moments of his life, he pauses to dole out a sliver of advice.
“Me, right here living my literal dream in the flesh, in the moment, I’m telling you right now, go chase your dreams,” the Syracuse resident counsels. “Whatever it is, don’t wait til tomorrow. Don’t put it off. Go do it today. Do something today that’s going to get you closer to your goal tomorrow.”
Woodhall, a track medalist at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, is speaking his own truth. Last month, he posted a video on TikTok explaining his journey from losing his legs at 11 months to becoming the first double-leg amputee to compete in the NCAA. That video found its way to 5.5 million viewers, including the producers of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” And on Monday, Woodhall told his story on the show to DeGeneres and her approximately 4.2 million viewers.
As a kicker, DeGeneres surprised him with a check for $20,000 to be used in his pursuit of competing in the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo this summer.
“I really love Ellen. I love what she’s about,” Woodhall said Thursday from the University of Arkansas, where he is studying business and marketing and competing for the Razorbacks track team. “To be a part of that whole thing is pretty surreal.”
Its surrealism rivals that of Woodhall’s life story.
He was born with a congenital defect known as fibular hemimelia that caused his lower legs to not form properly, and doctors told his parents he would never walk. One doctor, however, suggested amputating both legs, a procedure he underwent at 11 months old. He ran some 5-kilometer fun runs with his family in his normal prosthetics as a kid. In seventh grade he found track, after some of his friends went out for it, and running blades.
By his sophomore year, he had become one of the fastest athletes of any ability in Utah, if not the nation. The Syracuse High runner won state 400-meter titles in 2016 and 2017 and the 200 championship in 2017. The next season, on a scholarship to Arkansas, he became the first double amputee to compete at the NCAA Division I level.
Also sandwiched in there were the 2016 Paralympic Games where, at age 16 as one of the youngest Team USA members, he earned a silver and a bronze in his category in the 200 and 400, respectively.
He described the games as “overwhelming”: “From start to finish, the whole entire process is like — a party, a festival. It’s not just a track meet. At the very base of it, it is a track meet, but it’s so much more than that. The entire world comes together at one point and one time. It’s shown in the way they do things. It’s very big, very loud. It’s an amazing experience to be a part of.”
Woodhall is trying to experience it again, this time in Tokyo. He blew past the elite qualifying standard of 50.15 in the 400 by about 3 seconds with his fourth-place performance at the Red Raider Invitational on Jan. 24. That earned him a spot at the U.S. Paralympic Track and Field Trials in Minnesota on June 25-28. He said he plans to focus on the 400, but might also try to again qualify in the 200.
At the moment, though, Woodhall, 20, has other competitions to focus on. He just started his junior indoor season with the Razorbacks and will run the outdoor season with them this spring. Last year, he helped Arkansas’ 4x400 relay take seventh at the NCAA D-I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which earned him first-team All-America status.
Woodhall has said he has experienced criticism and shaming for the success he has found running on his blades against traditional high school and college athletes. He just wants people to see him as an athlete, he said.
That’s something DeGeneres could connect with.
“If somebody sees it as a disability or a disadvantage, it’s like, ‘You’re wrong,’” she said during the show. “‘This is my strength and this is what is going to make me special and help other people.’”
@hunterwoodhall I’m not sure who needs to hear this: but NEVER stop chasing your dreams, regardless of what anyone says. #foryou #storytime #fyp
♬ original sound - hunterwoodhall
Woodhall said he feels competing at that level on a regular basis will help him achieve his next dream of making the 2020 Paralympic team. Once he checks off that goal, he said he will likely use the money he was gifted on DeGeneres’ show to help pay for his family’s travel expenses to Tokyo — that is, if the NCAA gives him permission to accept it.
For now, he’s focusing on doing something every day that can get him closer to his goals. He said being on DeGeneres’ show “did a lot for me. I’m super thankful to be there and be a part of that experience, and I’m really, really excited for what I have coming up.”
