Sam Kendricks is finding joy in the Olympics again, while Valarie Allman has always been passionate about it.
On Monday night, Allman secured her second consecutive Olympic gold in the discus throw, and Kendricks won silver in the pole vault, a competition where Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis set a new world record.
Allman’s and Kendricks’ achievements brought the U.S. total to 11 medals at the Games, including three golds.
Three years ago in Tokyo, Kendricks was unable to compete due to a positive COVID-19 test and felt unsupported by Olympic officials. This experience left him feeling bitter and questioning his desire to compete in Paris.
However, his passion for the sport has returned, as shown by his silver medal win, adding to the bronze he won at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
“I was definitely bitter,” Kendricks said. “I wasn’t going to come to Paris until it was proven to me that it was going to be great and shining into the future.”
He spoke about the challenges he faced, including feeling abandoned when he was in isolation.
Despite these difficulties, Kendricks decided to return to the Olympics. “Rather than run away from it like I really wanted to, you’ve got to come back,” Kendricks said. “You’ve got to face that lion.”
He competed against the dominant Duplantis, who cleared 6.25 meters (20 feet, 6 inches) to win gold again, demonstrating his growth as the world’s top pole vaulter.
“His story is written in the stars, for sure,” said Kendricks, who cleared 5.95 meters (19 feet 6.25 inches) to beat Emmanouil Karalis of Greece. “But I think mine will have a tapestry hanging on my wall one day worthy of reading.”
Allman’s story is similar. After winning in Tokyo, the 29-year-old, who competed for Stanford, realized she needed to ease up on discus training. It had become her only focus during and after the global pandemic.
“I think I might be the only person in the world that probably had too much discus in their life,” Allman joked. “When you want to be as good as you can at something, you slowly start making sacrifices, and you don’t realize that it’s happening.”
To take a break, she bought a house and spent time with friends. “Such basic things,” Allman said. “When I went out to perform, I said that no matter how it played out, I’m so grateful that I get to do what I love.
No matter if I get a medal, whatever color it is, if I don’t get a medal, this is going to be a night that I’m proud of the fight that I showed. I think there was something freeing in that.”
Early in the competition, Allman felt nervous and fouled on her first attempt. “I felt the weight of like, ‘Holy crap, this is the Olympics,’” Allman explained. “It took me a minute to find my groove.”
She threw 68.74 meters (225 feet 6 inches) on her second attempt and 69.50 meters (228 feet) on her fourth. This was enough to win against Feng Bin from China and Sandra Elkasevic from Croatia.
“Pressure is becoming my friend,” Allman said. “I think it’s one of those things I’ve learned can bring out the best in you if you embrace it.
“To walk into the ring having one attempt left and knowing I’d already won, it was hard fighting back tears.”
