Sold On Silver! Former Ole Miss Track And Field Star Sam Kendricks Wins Medal In Olympics

Sam Kendricks is bringing pride back to the Ole Miss Rebels after winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

Aug 3, 2024; Paris, FRANCE; Sam Kendricks (USA) in men's pole vault qualifications during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former Ole Miss track and field star Sam Kendricks is not just bringing the Rebels pride at the Olympics in Paris, he's bringing back some hardware to his hometown of Oxford.

Kendricks claimed the silver medal in the men's pole vault event on Monday after clearing a distance of 5.95 meters. Sweden's Armand Duplantis took home the gold while Greece's Emmanouil Karalis won the bronze.

While the number was good enough to secure a place, Kendricks believed he could have gone higher. Although he didn't clear the six-meter mark, Kendricks has cleared a personal best of 6.06 meters.

Aug 3, 2024; Paris, FRANCE; Sam Kendricks (USA) in men's pole vault qualifications during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

While this is Kendricks' first silver medal, it's not his first time representing the United States. He qualified for both the 2016 and 2020 -- which moved to 2021 -- Games, though was not allowed to participate in Tokyo following a positive COVID-19 test.

Kendricks won the bronze medal in 2016. He elected to try and qualify one more time in June after initially being rumored to miss earlier this year.

After leaving Ole Miss in 2014, Kendricks has been one of the top Rebel athletes in recent memory. Not only has he placed twice on the global stage, but he's also won multiple competitions at the trial level over the past 10 years.

During his time in Oxford, Kendricks was a two-time NCAA champion and also won a pair of SEC titles. He is the first Ole Miss athlete to place in Paris through roughly a week of competitions.

Sprinter McKenzie Long will look to join Kendricks on the medal stand Tuesday evening should she qualify for the finals on Monday night. Long, who won three NCAA titles earlier this year for her speed, will race in the women's 200-meter semifinals on Monday.