As has been heavily discussed, celebrated and publicized in the Oxford-Lafayette community, hometown hero, soldier and athlete Sam Kendricks is set to finally kick off his Olympics in Rio de Janiero.

The men’s pole vault competition will take place over two days beginning on Saturday with the qualifying for the finals, which will be held Monday evening. The qualifying round will be streamed on nbcolympics.com starting at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday. The finals will be streamed online beginning at 6:15 p.m., and television coverage will begin on NBC at 7 p.m.

There will be a watch party at Rafters in Oxford on Monday for the finals. It is open to the public.

Kendricks, a 2011 graduate of Oxford High, has been one of the top vaulters in the world in recent years and is favored to contend for a spot on the podium. The Associated Press projected him to finish third while bookmakers across the pond have him favored to take home silver.

If Kendricks can bring home a medal, he will be the first athlete from Oxford High to do so as he has already made history by being the first Charger alum to become an Olympic athlete.