Ole Miss’ Sam Kendricks claims silver at 2024 Paris Olympics

Former Ole Miss track and field star and Oxford native Sam Kendricks is bringing Olympic glory back from Paris.

Kendricks claimed the silver medal in the men’s pole vault event on Monday, clearing a distance of 5.95 meters.

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

Surging over the 5.95-meter bar at the first time of asking, Kendricks could not clear the six-meter threshold. His personal best is listed at 6.06 meters.

The achievement comes on Kendricks’ third trip to the Olympics. He won bronze in 2016, but was not allowed to participate in the Tokyo Games following a positive COVID-19 test. He was unvaccinated. Disputing that decision, Kendricks originally indicated he might not attend the Paris Games, but eventually decided he would compete after winning the pole vault event at the Olympic Trials in June.

In doing so, he became the first Ole Miss medalist of the 2024 Games. Kendricks, who left Ole Miss in 2014, was a two-time NCAA champion while with the Rebels and also won a pair of SEC titles.

Former Rebel McKenzie Long will look to join him on the medal stand. Long will race in the women’s 200-meter semifinals on Monday with the finals to follow on Tuesday. She won three NCAA titles this spring to close out her Ole Miss career.

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David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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