At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, Kynard made the Olympic team by placing second behind Jamie Nieto with a height of 2.28 m. At the Olympics, Kynard won silver behind Russian Ivan Ukhov with a height of 2.33 m, the first major international medal of his career. Ukhov won the competition with a height of 2.38 m. Throughout the high jump competition, Kynard was noticed by his American-themed tube socks. His silver medal was later upgraded to gold with the disqualification of Ukhov for doping.