Having won the US Championships in 2019, Sam continued his ascent by earning a spot on the Tokyo Olympic team in 2021. In the Games’ qualifying rounds, he made it perfunctory, reaching a season’s best of 63.74m/209-1 and advancing to the final, in which he improved, yet again, this time reaching 63.88m/209-7, a mark that installed him in eighth position. From an Olympic final, however, things took a turn for the worse when Sam was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. But Olympians are made of steel, and, in his own words, “I ended 2022 with a cancer diagnosis, and I ended 2023 at the world championships.” It was a remarkable comeback. Having conquered his illness, Sam earned selection for the 2023 Budapest World Championships, in which he placed seventh in the qualifying round, failing to advance. He stated, “Not every day can be your day,”; but, by any measure, it was a resounding victory.
Sam started competing in the discus as a teenager in high school, ultimately attending the University of Pennsylvania where, over the course of four years, he earned three NCAA All-American honors and one NCAA title, as well as being named the USATFCCA/NCAA National Scholar of the year. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in economics from Penn’s Wharton School of Finance. Has brother, Jake, also attended UPenn, while his father, Marlon, was captain of the William & Mary track & field team in 1985.
Paris Result:
14th place, 62.66m/205-7; Eliminated in qualification round.