Sandi Morris and Her Road to Rio

Published by the Greenville Journal on July 14, 2016

Greenville pole vaulter Sandi Morris has collected a pile of medals throughout her career. But one medal is missing. It’s round, golden and has “Rio 2016” inscribed across the front. It might just be added to the pile soon.

On Sunday, she finished in second place at the USA Track & Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Morris cleared a bar set 15 feet, 7 inches in the air, a surprising height considering she hadn’t used her left arm for more than a month.

On May 20, Morris, 23, sustained a hairline fracture at the tip of her left ulna — a forearm bone — during the IAFF World Challenge in the Czech Republic. Her fiberglass pole had snapped just as her feet left the ground, sending the recoil into her arm.