Erik Kynard, Jr., is one of the most decorated athletes from the city of Toledo.
The 2009 Rogers graduate was a two-time Division I state champion, setting the Ohio record at 7 feet, 3½ inches at the City League meet his senior year, a two-time national champion at Kansas State, and an Olympic gold medalist at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Watch his Ohio-record jump here:
Kynard had his silver medal upgraded to gold in 2021 after Russian Ivan Ukhov was found to have been involved in the country’s widespread blood doping program and stripped of the gold medal. The City League Hall of Famer is one of a handful of gold medalists from northwest Ohio, a list that includes boxer Wilbert McClure (1960), figure skater Scott Hamilton (1984), baseball player Doug Mientkiewicz (2000), and sailor Anna Tunnicliffe (2008).
Kynard was a viral sensation at the 2012 Games for his star-spangled tube socks and his likeness to Kobe Bryant, another gold medalist from London.
He won the high jump title at the 2014 and 2015 U.S. outdoor championships and placed sixth at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.