SHAWN Barber, Canada’s world champion pole vaulter, has died aged 29 from “medical complications”.
The young athlete died on Wednesday at his home in Kingswood, Texas, his agent Paul Doyle confirmed to The Associated Press.
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Canadian champion Shawn Barber has died at the age of 29 Credit: AP
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The Canadian pole vaulter died at his home in Texas, his agent said. Credits: AP
The cause of death is not yet known, but Shawn had health problems.
“More than just an amazing athlete, Shawn was such a kind-hearted person who always put others before himself,” Doyle said Thursday.
“To lose such a good person at such a young age is tragic.”
He is survived by his mother, Ann; father, George; and brother David.
Shawn was a successful pole vaulter at the University of Akron, where he won back-to-back NCAA indoor titles in 2014 and 2015.
The Canadian also won the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, followed by gold at the Pan American Games later that summer.
Shawn rode the wave of momentum to that season’s world championships in Beijing, where he won gold over Germany’s Raphael Marcel Holzdeppe.
A year later, he reached the final of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the pole vault, which was won by the Brazilian Thiago Braz.
Shawn’s best jump was six meters (19 feet, 8 ¼ inches) on January 15, 2016 in Reno, Nevada.
His mark remains a Canadian record.
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Shawn’s cause of death remains unknown Credit: AP
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