He’s in the Army Reserve, so I don’t question his loyalty to country. And to be fair, I appreciate it when an athlete speaks candidly rather than in lame platitudes. He is of course misplacing the “blame” toward the Olympics organization instead of Japan. But he knew the rules of the game, and played it poorly.
Mondo and all the other vaulters performed just fine after getting the vaccine. Sam’s beliefs caused him to be self-selected out of a shot at an Olympic medal when he was closer to his peak. Nobody really to blame for that but himself. He surely knows that, but has to stick to his guns.
Sam is 31 now. He hasn’t won a national title since 2019, which is the same year he set his PR (6.06 AR). He’s still very highly ranked globally, but this does sound like a pre-emptive copout in case he doesn’t make the top three. “Maybe someone will talk me out of it” was his escape hatch, signaling he’s just venting and he’ll actually go if he’s top three.
If he does not go to Paris, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Nike drops him whenever his contract is up.
