Ole Miss' Kendricks stops mid-run for national anthem

RIO DE JANEIRO – A Team USA pole vaulter was in the midst of an attempt at the 2016 Rio Olympics when he heard the familiar notes of our national anthem playing at the Olympic Stadium.

Former University of Mississippi star and U.S. Army Reserve 2nd LT Sam Kendricks, 23,  stopped mid-attempt, looked for the American Flag and stood at attention until the national anthem was over.

Kendricks went on to take home the bronze medal in the men's pole vault with a jump of 5.85.

He was one of 18 U.S. athletes in Rio who also serve in the military.

The Mississippi native became the first American to take home a medal in that event sinceTimothy Mack won gold in Athens in 2004. A two-time NCAA champion, he also is the first athlete from Ole Miss to win an Olympic medal.

Three times, Kendricks nearly cleared 5.93 meters, and three times he grazed the bar enough to dislodge it. His personal best is 5.92, and the second lieutenant in the 655th Transportation Company of the Army Reserves in Millington, Tenn., set a U.S. trials record of 5.91 – on the Fourth of July, of course.

“They say back home, and jokingly in track circles, that if you win a medal it will change your life,” Kendricks said. “I think your life is changed on the way to that medal, honestly. With all the journeys and sacrifices that you make, all the training that you do, and the people you leave at home to watch. That is what is really the value of the (medal). I’m glad I have something tangible to bring home and show for it. I know that everybody in Oxford will love to see it. But the journey, like my coach says, is the goal. Not necessarily the medals. And it’s very fun to come and compete, but not necessarily the end of all things.”

He was philosophical afterward. He was, quite simply, having a blast during the competition. Kendricks said it didn’t feel like an Olympic final because he is tight with most of the other vaulters who were on the field.