If you’ve ever been in the middle of something when colors or the national anthem starts to play, you understand that heart-pounding sense of urgency to stop what you’re doing and stand ramrod straight at the position of attention.
Olympian Sam Kendricks also knows that feeling.
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On Aug. 15 at the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Kendricks, a 23-year-old second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve literally dropped what he was doing — he was in the middle of the qualifying round for pole vaulting — to stand at the position of attention when the “Star-Spangled Banner” began to play. The video was posted to NBC’s Twitter feed on Aug. 21.
https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/767379558840406017
Even after stopping in the middle of the competition to pay respects to the national anthem, Kendricks still medaled, taking home the Bronze after vaulting 19 feet, 2 1/4 inches, making him the first American to win a medal in the event in 12 years.