Do a Google search for Erik Kynard and Kobe Bryant, and it’s as if you typed in track and field or fish and chips.
There are 80,400 results.
Kynard and Bryant became connected at the 2012 Olympics in London, the 21-year-old college high jumper from Toledo and the global basketball icon. They shared a country, a desire to be the best on the planet, and, yes, more than a passing resemblance.
During the opening ceremony, LeBron James snapped a picture of Kynard and his superstar doppelganger — or was it the other way around? — both smiling widely in their navy blue blazers and berets.
“Kobe 1 & Kobe 2 #LOL,” James tweeted.
The playful post went viral, and Kynard went on to be known as the breakout American star who won a silver medal AND the guy in the star-spangled tube socks who looked like Kobe.
It was all part of the experience of his life.
As time went on, Kynard was never entirely sure what to make of the Kobe comparisons.
Here he was, a world-class athlete, too, and while the Rogers grad was adored back home and celebrated in track and field circles, many national headlines cast him as a footnote in Bryant’s story, not the star of his own.
“It could be a frustrating resemblance,” Kynard said, “especially when you are an athlete yourself and you're trying to not follow a path but lead a trail.”
But, mostly, he embraced the connection.
He was in on the humor, considering mention in the same breath as Bryant an honor. Besides, he liked to think the comparisons transcended the surface, extending to their focus and fire and ability to bend their sports to their will.
You see, Kynard modeled himself after Bryant.
The basketball great was not just another star athlete to Kynard.
For a kid born in 1991 who loved hoops, Bryant was the athlete of his generation, the superstar in between Jordan and LeBron who was at the height of his powers during his formative years. Kynard wore Kobe’s No. 8 jersey to school, watched his games, imitated his fadeaways. Bryant was his favorite player, the Lakers his favorite team.
“As far as focus and hard work and dedication, that’s like a one-in-a-million person,” Kynard said. “As a young African-American male from Toledo, Ohio, who was looking to these athletes, I got to know who Michael Jordan was through studying the history of basketball. But I can’t say I was a fan at the pinnacle of his success because I was still understanding the game.
“When Kobe was playing and going from high school to the NBA, I got to see all of that, and it was a huge motivation for me to push forward to reach the pinnacle of success in my own right and my own sport.”
And he did.
Kynard stopped playing basketball his freshman year of high school, but he carried the Mamba Mentality — as Bryant styled his unsparing chase of greatness — to his own pursuit as a high jumper.
He ascended from a two-time Division I state champion at Rogers to a two-time NCAA champion at Kansas State to the second-highest flier in the world, clearing 7-feet, 7¾ inches at the London Games to earn a silver medal that should soon be upgraded to gold. (The Russian who won was a drug cheat, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced last year. Stay tuned.)
Kynard isn’t done yet, either.
I caught up with him by phone from Arizona, where he is training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Like so many, he was devastated Sunday, his heart shattering for the family and friends of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and the seven others on board the downed helicopter.
It still doesn’t feel real.
Kynard remembers the magic of 2012 — and his experience with Bryant — like it was last summer.
He traded well wishes with Bryant in the cafeteria of the Olympic Village, then they paraded into Olympic Stadium together during the opening ceremony.
The kid and the legend, teammates on Team USA.
“Man, to meet Kobe at 21,” he said, “before my first Olympic Games, and going into the stadium ... ”
They say never meet your heroes, but Kynard is glad he got the chance.
First Published January 28, 2020, 8:52 p.m.
