Ole Miss Alum Sam Kendricks Wins U.S. Title, Makes Third Straight Trip to Olympics

Ole Miss Rebels track and field alumnus Sam Kendricks will be heading to Paris to represent the United States in the 2024 Olympics.

Jun 23, 2024; Eugene, OR, USA; Sam Kendricks gestures after winning the pole vault in a meet record 19-5 (5.92m) during the US Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

OXFORD, Miss. -- Two-time pole vault world champion and Oxford, Miss., native Sam Kendricks secured his third career Olympic qualifying berth on the third day of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday, winning his 11th career national title in the pole vault.

The former Ole Miss Rebel made short work of his qualifying round on Friday and was just as efficient in the finals on Sunday until he reached his eventual winning height of 5.92 m/19-5 - which he nailed on his second attempt for the title. That height breaks Kendricks' very own U.S. Olympic Trials record of 5.91m/19-04.75 set in 2016. He was the only competitor in the field to clear that height on Sunday.

He received a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics and is just the third athlete in U.S. history to qualify three times in the men’s pole vault alongside Bob Richards (1948, 1952, 1956) and Earl Bell (1976, 1984, 1988).

Kendricks is a full go to be the captain of Team USA in 2024 after it was reported on Friday that the two-time world champion "may not even go" to the Paris Olympics after dealing with complications in the 2021 Olympics due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Kendricks spoke with reporters following the trials and reaffirmed that he is ready to be a "positive force" in Paris.

"We're trying to rebuild this year," Kendricks said per RunnerSpace. "We're going to reassert a positive view of Team USA. I want to be a captain of my pole vault squad. I want to be a positive force for Team USA. I'm going to hold everybody accountable to their position and their job: Bringing us back home better than we leave the states."

Kendricks competed for Oxford High School before coming to Ole Miss and winning national championships in 2013 and 2014. It was then that he elected to go pro, and he won the bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro's 2016 Olympics before claiming world championships in 2017 and 2019.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are set to begin on Friday, July 26, and will conclude on Sunday, August 11.