July 5 (Reuters) - Olympic and world champion Tara Davis-Woodhall spoke about her mental health struggles, describing her week as "really difficult" going into the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, where she won the long jump.
Davis-Woodhall successfully defended her title at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon, fending off Italy's Larissa Iapichino by 1 cm, after jumping 7.13 m to Iapichino's 7.12.
"Just to get here was a struggle this week," Davis-Woodhall said after her victory.
"We're dealing with some mental health problems. Just, you know, I have depression. I have anxiety. This week was really difficult."
The two-time Olympian has previously spoken openly about her mental health struggles, including periods when she considered quitting the sport.
Davis-Woodhall won the world championship in the long jump final in Tokyo last year and the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I couldn't fathom just being here for some reason. I couldn't get myself to, like, envision it," she said.
"So the fact that I showed up today, the fact that I even gave myself a chance is really big for me, and then to come out with a win, it just puts into perspective that I just have to give myself a chance every single time."
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)
