Between the various political controversies at the Olympics and the presence of the one and only Snoop Dogg on ABC’s coverage of the event, you may have missed this story. On Monday, August 5th, American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks shocked the world when he appeared at the men’s pole vault final covered in blood.
Kendricks committed to jumping the 6 meters and doing all he could to bring home the medal for Team U.S.A. – and he committed so much that he brushed off a hand injury and kept on trying. After slicing open his hand on his equipment, Kendricks continued to attempt to clear 6 meters.
“I’ve got very sharp spikes,” Kendricks said after winning the silver medal on Monday night, clearing 5.95 meters.
Speaking to reporters, Kendricks said that he was ‘really committing to first jump at six meters.” It was during this first effort, he said, that he punctured his hand three times and it “wouldn’t stop bleeding.”
“And rather than wipe it on my nice uniform, I had to wipe it on my arm,” the U.S. athlete said.
The scenes sparked conversations online, with X users immediately noticing the American athlete covered in a fairly substantial amount of blood.
“Why is Sam Kendricks covered in blood??” one user asked.
“Sam Kendricks bagging Silver while being covered with his own blood. Incredible athlete!,” another user said.
Kendricks was widely praised for continuing despite his injuries – though despite his best efforts, he just couldn’t quite match the incredible performance by Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis. Born in Louisiana but competing for Sweden, Duplantis broke a world record that he had set previously, clearing an impressive 6.25 meters and winning the gold medal. Duplantis’ performance caused the crowd at the Stade de France to erupt in applause as he broke. Kendricks was just as thrilled to see his friend and competitor perform so well, immediately rushing across the track to celebrate his win with him.
