Kendricks wins silver medal in Paris

Published 3:39 pm Monday, August 5, 2024

Former Ole Miss track and field star and Oxford native Sam Kendricks earned a silver medal in the men’s pole vault event on Monday at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Kendricks cleared a distance of 5.95 meters, his season’s best. His personal best is 6.06 meters.

Armand Duplantis of Sweden won the gold, while Emmanouil Karalis of Greece earned bronze.

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At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, he took home a bronze medal. He could not compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to a positive COVID test.

Kendricks vaulted for Oxford High School, leading his team to the 2009 MHSAA 5A State Championship.

He went on to vault for the University of Mississippi, where he won the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Championships. He broke both Ole Miss Rebels pole vault records as a freshman.

A member of the U.S. Army Reserve, Kendricks, 32, is the son of Scott and Marni Kendricks. He and his wife, Leanne, live in Oxford.