Little is known of Woodring, who originally did not qualify for the 1920 Summer Olympics, placing 5th in the American trials. However, he was given a chance to compete in favour of the 4th_placed runner. After arriving in Antwerp, his track shoes fell apart, and Woodring was unable to obtain new ones. He was finally able to loan shoes from another runner, for the duration of the competition.
Woodring made good use of these shoes in the 200 m final, beating favourite Charlie Paddock, who had already won the 100 m, with a strong finish.