RIO– Ole Miss alum and Oxford native Sam Kendricks has won the bronze medal in the pole vault competition at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Kendricks won the bronze medal in the pole vault Monday evening at Rio’s Olympic Stadium after he successfully cleared a height of 5.85 meters, but missed all three of his attempts at 5.93 meters.
Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil won the gold medal by clearing an Olympic record 6.03 meters, breaking the mark set by Renaud Lavillenie of France at the London Olympic Games in 2012. Lavillenie claimed the silver medal by clearing 5.98 meters.
Kendricks was with Ole Miss from 2012-2014 and left a legacy of a record-breaking career. He won the titles of USA, NCAA and SEC Pole Vault Champion. Kendricks also finished an undefeated outdoor season with his first career USA title, won the pole vault with a season-best height of 18-10.25 at the USA Championships in Sacramento, California, and was the first person in school history to win a USA pole vault title.
Kendricks claimed his second straight NCAA outdoor pole vault title in Eugene, Oregon, with a mark of 18-8.25 and was the first Rebel to win back-to-back NCAA outdoor titles since Savante’ Stringfellow made the long jump in the 2000-2001 season.
Kendricks qualified for the Olympic Team with the highest pole vault distance in the history of the Team USA tryouts.
courtesy @samkendricks on Twitter
“We’ve worked all these years, we’ve done all these competitions, and it’s come into fruition,” said Kendricks. “and there’s the little bit of gratification which is being part of the Olympic team.”
