International athletics mourns the loss of former pole vault world champion Shawnacy “Shawn” Barber.
International athletics mourns the loss of former pole vault world champion Shawnacy “Shawn” Barber. The Canadian died at his home in the US state of Texas at the age of just 29, according to Barber’s advisor Paul Doyle. There was initially no information or knowledge available about the cause of the former world-class athlete’s sudden death.
Barber, who also had a US passport and came out as gay seven years ago, had already reached the peak of his career by winning the title at the 2015 World Cup in Beijing. In his World Cup triumph in China with 5.90 m, Barber prevailed over Leverkusen’s Raphael Holzdeppe, who was the same height, and had to be content with silver. In the same year, Barber also won the Pan American Games in Toronto, before disappointment with tenth place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
With his personal best of 5.93 m, Canada’s five-time champion also set a national outdoor record. In 2016, Barber once exceeded the 6.00 m mark at an indoor meet.