Sam Kendricks (born September 7, 1992) is an American

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

er. He is a three-time indoor and six-time outdoor national champion (2014–2019), the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

bronze medalist, and the 2017 World Champion. In 2019, Kendricks set the American pole vault record at 6.06 m, tying him with Steve Hooker for fourth all time. He later won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. , Kendricks is a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

Prep

Kendricks vaulted for Oxford High School in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Oxf ...

leading his team to the 2009 MHSAA 5A State Championship. He vaulted to set the state record. He won the state meet outdoors in 2010 and 2011, and indoors in 2011. He also lettered in cross country and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. In 2011, he was named the Gatorade boys' high school track and field athlete of the year for Mississippi.

NCAA

While vaulting for the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, Kendricks won the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and 2014 NCAA Championships.Sam Kendricks Bio – Ole Miss Rebels Official Athletic Site Ole Miss Rebels Official Athletic Site – Track & Field
Olemisssports.com. Retrieved on August 17, 2016. He broke both

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

pole vault records as a freshman. Kendricks announced that he would be turning pro in 2014.

Professional

2015

Kendricks set his personal best of at the indoor 2015

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

Pole Vault Summit. Kendrick uses a hand hold at and from his performance in Reno claims the "Push-off" World Record at . He won the men's pole vault at 2015 US Outdoor Championships in . He won the prelims of the 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Men's pole vault and finished 9th in .

2016

After setting a personal best outdoors at the IAAF World Challenge in Beijing, at Kendricks won the US Olympic Trials at . At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, he won the bronze medal. Kendricks also garnered attention during the Olympics when he stopped mid run during a pole vault attempt to stand at attention while "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" was played.

2017

On June 24, 2017, Kendricks became the 22nd person to join the six meters club by vaulting exactly while winning the

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place June 22–25 an ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California. On December 29, 2017, Kendricks married Leanne Zimmer in Oxford, MS.

2019

On July 27, 2019, Kendricks set the American pole vault record by jumping 6.06 m.

2021

Kendricks tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in the

Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...

, and had to withdraw from the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

as a result, missing the pole vault competition.

Competition record

References

External links

* * *
Sam Kendricks Ole Miss ProfileSam Kendricks Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendricks, Sam 1992 births Living people American male pole vaulters American military Olympians Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Ole Miss Rebels men's track and field athletes Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from Oxford, Mississippi Track and field athletes from Mississippi Olympic male pole vaulters Universiade gold medalists for the United States World Athletics Championships winners IAAF Continental Cup winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Diamond League winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Oceanside, California United States Army officers United States Army reservists Military personnel from California