Sandi Morris won silver in Rio, narrowly missing the gold. She kept her motivation alive and continued her training in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. When she got there, the competition turned into the worst day of her life.
It was the preliminary competition, a crucial moment that would solidify her place in the finals. As she ran up, and her pole hit the box, it snapped, resulting in an injury in her hip that took her out of the game entirely.
"My whole career I've probably taken 15,000 to 20,000 jumps, and I've broken four poles," Morris said. "It's really, really rare."
The event was heartbreaking, but it only made her more motivated to go for another Olympics.
"I was fired up," Morris said.
Now she is headed to her third Olympic Games, this time, as an alternate.
Originally from Downers Grove, Morris went on to compete at the University of Arkansas, where she still trains today.
As a child, Morris was involved in a myriad of different sports. So how did she choose the pole vault?
She said she didn't; it chose her. According to Morris, the sport just fit her personality and athletic ability.
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"I am stubborn as a bull. I will not give up. … That is why the pole vault stuck," Morris said.
After working for years, she finally made an Olympics in 2016 and went to Rio. There, she said she was like a "kid in a candy store" with no expectations for herself.
"I was a wide-eyed excited kid. I was going into an Olympic year with no expectations," Morris said.
In the pole vault final, she knew she was a contender for a medal and that it could be gold. After her attempts, she ended up in second place.
Morris said in that moment, she had to remind herself not to be disappointed. Eight years later, she is trying to be more like her younger self was: free from expectation.
"That's when athletes do their best, when there's no nothing. No pressure. You're just out there competing to the best of your ability and just jumping free, and I want to jump free," Morris said.
Morris said she knew the only thing she could do was move forward, and she kept pushing for Tokyo.
After the devastation of a broken pole and uncharacteristic performance in Tokyo, piled on with an injury, Morris gave herself a few days to process what happened before jumping right back into training. She knew this time around she only had three years before the next Games and needed to get back to work.
"There is no 'coulda woulda shoulda' in sport. Sport is on to the next thing, and it will leave you in the dust if you don't take it by the reins and go for it," Morris said.
Although Morris' ultimate goal for Paris is to win a gold medal, she also took the time to explain her gratitude for the people in her life that have helped her get this far.
"I just always want to express how thankful I am to have the support system I do," Morris said. "I don’t think people really realize how much it takes."
