Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall Talk Golden Summer in Paris: 'Wanted to Do It Together' (Exclusive)

The Woodhalls tell PEOPLE that they both had 'blind faith' that 'everything was going to work out the way it needed to' during the Paris Games

The Woodhalls officially concluded their golden summer in Paris!

Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall both went viral for their ongoing public support for each other’s track and field careers during the Paris Games, and after Tara won her gold in the women’s long jump final last month, it was Hunter’s moment to shine during the Paralympics. He secured the gold in the men's 400-meter T62 on Sept. 6 — and Tara was of course there to support.

Similar to their first viral embrace from the Olympics on Aug. 8, Hunter, 25, ran straight into Tara’s arms after his win to celebrate his gold medal. Tara, 25, could be heard telling him “I’m so proud of you” before he embraced the rest of his family.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the double-amputee runner says that “the energy was right” the day of the race and that “we had a really good vibe.”

“It had been really rainy and gloomy here in Paris the few days leading up to the race,” he recalls. “But the day of [the race], we woke up, the sun was shining and Tara’s like ‘yo, let's turn this place up!’ and put on some music.”

Related: Hugs for Gold! Hunter Woodhall Wins 1st Paralympic Gold in 400-Meter T62 — and Embraces Olympian Wife Tara

The University of Arkansas alum explains how important visualization is before any race, and it played a key role for him once again before his gold medal-winning moment. Hunter says that his coach “talked me through the entire race and it went down exactly as he had said” and he “also wrote in my journal how I wanted the race to play out.”

“Mentally, I was so prepared, because of my team that's around me and everything we've done this year. We've sacrificed so much and worked so hard every single day. We've shown up, done our best and I knew that I'd done everything that I needed to put myself in a good position, and the rest was just about letting it happen.”

Shortly after Hunter won gold, he held up the back of his bib, which had the name of his late uncle Wyatt Woodhall and read “this one is for you.”

The Paralympian — who was born with fibular hemimelia, which prevented his legs from developing properly — tells PEOPLE that his “uncle was a great athlete himself” before his death in May 2021, and that Hunter “needed him there with me” to finish this race.

“After he passed away, there were a few years there that I didn't particularly have success in track, and I wasn't running well,” he says. “I wanted to do something for him, and I just knew that I didn't have the ability to run a race that he deserved. So when I got here, I knew I was ready, and that I needed a little bit extra.”

Related: Tara Davis and Hunter Woodhall's Relationship: All About the Olympic Couple’s Romance

“It's really tough finding people that genuinely believe in you — especially as a kid with a disability — and [who] genuinely want to see you succeed,” he adds. “My uncle Wyatt was just instrumental in creating a family dynamic of people who are champions, who work hard, love to compete and love the sport. He would show up to my meets and would watch me run in college, and he just had a joy for the sport, and believed in me.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

So what was running through Tara’s mind during Hunter’s race? The Olympic gold medalist tells PEOPLE that she “couldn't believe my eyes” and “knew he was going to win” as he came off the curb.

“We've just been thinking about this moment for so long, so like, for it to be playing out in front of me, I was like, ‘oh my gosh, there's no going back now,’ ” she says. “I didn't really want to process [my win] a month ago because I wanted to do it together.”

Both Tara and Hunter tell PEOPLE that their “biggest goal” coming into the Paris Games was to “grow” the excitement and attention around the Paralympics and their respective events within track and field.

“I'm proud to be a Paralympian and I’m proud of the Paralympics,” he says. “And the same with Tara; she wants to grow the sport of long jump and get people involved in what we love so much.”

“We're so grateful that people want to tune in and share a little part of something that we have such a love and passion for. And man, I'm glad that we were able to deliver and give them what they deserve to see. The online presence was insane. But in person, we had the stadium of 60 to 70,000 people coming to watch us compete. The energy was unmatched.”

Hunter says that he and Tara both had “blind faith” that their summer in Paris would play out “exactly how [we] planned it."

“We trusted that everything was going to work out the way it needed to, and we just had to show up, do our best and enjoy it.”

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.