After three attempts at 5.60 meters, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist was able to clear the bar on his third try, as well as 5.70 meters in his first attempt. In his group, Kendricks came in first place.
Joining Kendricks in the pole vault final on Tuesday, August 8, are 11 athletes: Polish pole vaulter Piotr Lisek, Canadian Shawn Barber (and reigning World Champion from Beijing), Australian Kurtis Marschall, Germany’s Raphael Holzdeppe, Arnaud Art from Belgium, Jie Yao and Changrui Xue from China, Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, 2011 World Champion Paweł Wojciechowski, as well as French athletes Axel Chapelle and indoor world record holder Renaud Lavillenie (who won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro).
Read More: Digital Journal chatted with Sam Kendricks.