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)