Kansas City’s Chris Nilsen wins silver medal in Tokyo Olympics pole vault

Kansas City has an Olympic medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.

Chris Nilsen, a Park Hill High School graduate, won the silver medal in the men’s pole vault Tuesday with a personal best height of 5.97 meters (19 feet, 6 inches). His mark was also the second-best in the world this year and surpassed his teammate, Sam Kendricks, who cleared 5.92 meters last month, for the best height by an American in 2021.

Armand Duplantis of Sweden won the gold, clinching victory with a height of 6.02 meters. Nilsen was the only athlete to match the Swede in clearing 5.97 meters, but Duplantis got the better of Nilsen by clearing the winning height on his first attempt.

Duplantis then raised the bar to 6.19 meters but missed all three times when he tried to improve on the world record mark of 6.18 meters he set in Glasgow last year.

Thiago Braz of Brazil won bronze at 5.87 meters. KC Lightfoot, a Lee’s Summit grad, finished tied for fourth with Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis at a height of 5.80 meters.

It’s Nilsen’s first Olympic medal and the 47th that the United States has earned in the men’s pole vault. Nilsen earned the silver while the U.S. was a man down in the event: Kendricks tested positive for COVID-19 in the Olympic Village and had to miss out on Saturday’s qualifier.

Performing on the sport’s highest level with that in the back of Nilsen’s mind, it led to a special moment for the Kansas Citian.

“Sam Kendricks wasn’t here,” Nilsen said following his event. “And to be able to represent the United States in a way that one, myself and two, Sam Kendricks would’ve, that was kind of the goal coming in here. I’m heartbroken that he wasn’t able to compete, but I just hope that he gets home safe and fast.”

Nilsen secured the United States championship in June by jumping 5.90 meters on his first attempt — a height his competition couldn’t clear. Before arriving in Tokyo, Nilsen set a since-broken national high school record at Park Hill, won three NCAA championships at South Dakota and won gold at the Pan Am Games in 2019.

Duplantis, who briefly went to LSU before turning pro, has maintained a friendship with Nilsen — who stayed in college all four years — throughout the years as pole vault competitors. They each said they mentioned reminiscing on the past during the final, though it’s been Duplantis (who goes by the nickname “Mondo”) who has often got the better of Nilsen throughout the years.

The two embraced following the meet, and touched on where the places their friendly — albeit one-sided — rivalry could go next. It can’t get much better than going first and second in the Olympics.

“We kind of get the best of each other sometimes, more nowadays Mondo than I,” Nilsen said. “He’s the world record holder and consistent over 6 meters, and I have yet to break that barrier. We spoke about (the past) a little bit ... I think it’s cool as Mondo said to watch each other grow and we’re friends. I think it’s cool that whereas other friends they would go to the bar, play video games or watch a movie, Mondo and I just make the Olympic podium together.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 9:19 AM.