Olympic pole vault: Crushed by COVID in Tokyo, Sam Kendricks grabs silver in Paris

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PARIS — Three years after a positive COVID test prevented him from competing at the Tokyo Olympics, American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks admits he’s still “bitter” about how he was supposedly mistreated.

Kendricks is adamant that the test was a false positive because he didn’t have any symptoms. The 31-year-old Mississippi native insists he should have been allowed to compete rather than being marooned by himself in quarantine.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier this summer, Kendricks claimed he “might not even go” to Paris if he qualified. He backed off after he won the Olympic Trials men’s pole vault competition with a meet-record jump, but he said Saturday that he’s still “broken” from his Tokyo experience.

“I’m ruined as an individual, almost damaged goods in the eyes of every brand because of that,” Kendricks said. “I can’t go back and change that. They’re like who’s the next guy and the next guy. Sam Kendricks, he’s already done.”

Kendricks wrote a new Olympic story for himself on Monday night when he soared into medal contention by clearing the first three heights in the men’s pole vault without a single miss. When he cleared 5.95 — a season best — he assured himself a medal.

Gold was always a distant hope, with world-record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden in the field.

It was Duplantis who cleared 6.0 first. Kendricks had three tries but couldn’t clear. No matter. Silver would more than do, making up for the disappointment of Tokyo.

Emmanouil Karalis of Greece took the bronze (5.90).

Duplantis was not done. He wanted the Olympic record — 6.03 — which he surpassed with a vault of 6.10.

Then it was onto the world record — his own.

With Kendricks standing by and rooting him on, Duplantis went after 6.25 … and missed, his first of the night. He missed again. Then on his third and final attempt, he cleared the bar, breaking the world record of 6.24 he set in April.