Sam Kendricks

Samuel Hathorn Kendricks (born September 7, 1992) is an American pole vaulter. He is a three-time indoor and six-time outdoor national champion (2014–2019), the 2016 Olympics bronze and 2024 Olympics silver medalist, and the 2017 and 2019 World Champion. In 2019, Kendricks set the American pole vault record at 6.06 m, tying him with Steve Hooker for sixth all time. He later won the gold medal at the World Championships in Doha.

Early life Kendricks vaulted for Oxford High School in his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, leading his team to the 2009 MHSAA 5A State Championship. He vaulted to set the then-state record, later broken in 2023 by his brother John Scott with a vault of . He broke both Ole Miss Rebels 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 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, 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" was played.

2017 Kendricks celebrates winning the 2017 World Championship title in London, England, UK. 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 in Sacramento, California.

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

2024 Leading up to the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials final Kendricks stated that he might be inclined to forgo the 2024 Olympics after his "bitter" experience from Tokyo 2020 when he claimed that his positive COVID-19 test had been a false positive and the USOC had done nothing to fight on his behalf. On June 23, 2024, he won his 7th outdoor (11th overall) U.S. National Pole Vault championship by clearing and earned an automatic bid for the Olympics. Shortly after the competition was over he confirmed that he would be going to Paris after all. In the 2024 Olympic Men's Pole Vault final he claimed the Silver Medal for Team USA by clearing a height of . He was bested by Armand "Mondo" Duplantis who set a new world record at .

Competition record