World pole vault champion Kendricks out of Olympics after Covid positive Issued on: 29/07/2021 - 06:10 US pole vault world champion Sam Kendricks is out of the Olympics after testing positive for Covid-19 Patrick Smith GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP 1 min Tokyo (AFP) Two-time world pole vault champion Sam Kendricks was ruled out of the Tokyo Games on Thursday after testing positive for coronavirus, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee confirmed. "We are saddened to confirm that Sam Kendricks tested positive for Covid-19 and will not compete in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," the USOPC said in a statement on Twitter. Kendricks won back-to-back gold medals at the 2017 and 2019 world championships and was one of the main contenders for the title in Tokyo along with Swedish world record holder Armand Duplantis.