Mississippi pole vaulter Sam Kendricks’ out of Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19

Published 11:23 pm Wednesday, July 28, 2021

American world-champion pole vaulter Sam Kendricks will miss the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.

Kendricks’ dad posted on social media that his son had no symptoms but was informed while in Tokyo that he tested positive and was out of the competition.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee confirmed the news and said Kendricks has been placed in isolation at a hotel. He is being supported by the USOPC and USA Track and Field.

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Kendricks won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics and took gold at the last two world championships. He holds the American record at 19 feet, 10 ½ inches (6.06 meters).

Kendricks, the two-time world champion, is a former Oxford and Ole Miss standout, who still lives and trains in Oxford.

In 2019, Kendricks set a new American outdoor record when he cleared 6.06 meters (19-feet, 10.5-inches) to clinch his sixth consecutive US outdoor championship.