The Canadian athletics group mourns a tragic loss with the demise of Shawnacy “Shawn” Barber, the 2015 world pole vault champion. He was 29.
In line with his agent, Paul Doyle, Barber died on Wednesday at his house in Kingwood, Texas. The reason for demise is at the moment unknown, however a report from the Related Press talked about that Barber had fallen sick and had been experiencing poor well being for a while.
Barber, the present Canadian report holder within the pole vault, was the only Canadian man to enter pole vault’s six-metre membership. His achievements embrace profitable gold for Canada on the 2015 World Championships in Beijing with a bounce of 5.90 metres. Moreover, he received gold on the 2015 Pan American Video games in Toronto and earned a bronze medal on the 2014 Commonwealth Video games in Glasgow.
On the 2016 Rio Olympics, Barber reached the ultimate within the pole vault, which was received by Thiago Braz. The final time Barber competed was in February 2020.
“Extra than simply an unimaginable athlete, Shawn was such a good-hearted individual that at all times put others forward of himself,” wrote Doyle on Instagram. “It’s tragic to lose such a very good individual at such a younger age.”
Though Barber grew up in Texas, he break up his time between Toronto and Houston. His resolution to symbolize Canada was influenced by his father, who was a pole vaulter for Canada on the 1983 World Championships.
He’s survived by his mom, Ann; father, George; and brother, David.