Days before this year’s US Olympic Trials, Olympian Sam Kendricks was on the fence about Paris 2024. However, after winning the pole vault trials, the track and field icon punched his ticket for the 2024 Olympic Games. The qualification marks the 31-year-old’s successful comeback to the Olympics stage. Yet it wouldn’t have happened without the help and inspiration from his family.

The track and field athlete faced disappointment in 2021 after he had to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics due to contracting COVID. Yet, his family, especially his athlete siblings, inspired the pole vaulter to bounce back. The 31-year-old father of one grew up with three siblings, one of whom is his twin brother Tom Kendricks. Besides Tom, Sam Kendricks has a sister Charli, and a younger brother John Scott Kendricks.

Sam Kendricks and his three siblings

Born to Scott and Marni Kendricks on September 7th, 1992, Sam Kendricks and his three siblings grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. However, it was no accident that all the Kendricks’ children developed a love for track and field, especially pole vaulting. Their father vaulted in high school and instilled a deep love of the sport to all his children.

However, Sam Kendricks’ twin brother Tom and sister Charli didn’t pursue the sport competitively at a high level. In fact, it was thanks to the 31-year-old’s competitive nature that his twin brother stuck around at the Oxford High School tracks. Their father, who was a track and field coach at their school noticed the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist’s desire to excel in pole vaulting. So his father took the humbling step and put his son in the girls’ group.

While their goal was to eventually beat the school record, the 2017 world champion ended up beating the state record. Under the tutelage of his father, the 31-year-old set the state record in the 2011 MHSAA 5A State Championship with a 16 feet 9.9 inches (5.18m) vault. While Tom and Charli Kendricks had stopped competing by then, the youngest Kendricks sibling started training.

John Scott Kendricks: Following in his brother’s footsteps

As Sam Kendricks made his mark in the sport, John Scott Kendricks, who was over a decade younger than his brother, rose through the ranks. The 2019 World Champion’s constant improvement inspired his youngest brother to follow in his footsteps. Thankfully, the Arkansas Razorbacks member had the best mentors you could ask for. John Scott Kendricks regularly trains with his Olympian brother.

He also learned from his father, Scott Kendricks, who remains involved with his lifelong passion. However, it’s only in the last few years that the high school senior has come into his own. In 2022, John Scott ranked 11th among high school vaulters in the USA with a 16 feet, 9.5 inches (5.12m) vault. In March 2023, the youngster vaulted 17 feet 0.6 inches (5.20m) breaking his brother’s state record.

As Sam Kendricks prepares to represent the USA at the Paris Olympics, he stares at another chance to win Olympic gold. Meanwhile, his youngest sibling continues to reach new heights and eventually dreams of adding to his family’s Olympic legacy. It seems the Kendricks family name will ring loudly in the sport of pole vaulting for a long time to come.