Shawn Barber, world pole vault champion, dies

The world of athletics is in mourning. The world champion pole vaulter Shawn Barber He was found dead in his residence located in Kingwood, Texasby reasons that are still unknown. And despite having abandoned the discipline in 2020, he left an indelible mark on the sport.

Barber broke with all the paradigms of jumping in athletics and vindicated the historical figures of Armand Duplantis y Sergei Bubka. The Canadian was world champion at 21 years old in Beijing 2015where he achieved a mark of 5,90 metrosand the same year he was consecrated in the Pan American Games of Torontowhere he was escorted by the Argentine German Chiaraviglio.

But his good level continued and in the Olympic Games of Río 2016 He got tenth place with a jump of 5.50 metros. However, the Canadian newspaper Toronto Star, before the Olympic Games in Brazil, announced that Barber had tested positive for traces of cocaine in an anti-doping test.

The Canadian Center for Ethics in SportGiven that, he proposed suspending the athlete for four years, but was not disqualified and in exchange, they took away the national title won in 2016. “This has been a learning experience for Shawn“He is a young athlete who is learning to compete on the field of play, and to prepare away from it,” Athletics Canada reported in an announcement at that time.

However, his career was in decline and his last sporting goodbye in the big leagues was when he reached six meters during a competition in Reno. However, in his record there are also the five national championships from NCAA (The National Association of Collegiate Athletes) between the years 2013 and 2018, and the Diamond League in Zurich.

The Associated Press was the agency that announced the death of the pole vaulter through his representative, who stated: “More than an incredible athlete, Shawn was such a kind hearted person. who always put others before himself. “It is tragic to lose such a good person at such a young age.”

In addition, AP announced that Barber had health problems and unknown medical complications. His representation team posted a message on Instagram expressing his pain, accompanied by photos of Shawn: “A friend who will never be forgotten. Canadian Olympic pole vaulter Shawn Barber has died. He is currently the Canadian record holder with a personal best of 6.00m and was the pole vault world champion in 2015. Shawn was also an Olympic finalist at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. We will miss him very much”.

When the news became known, the recognition from the different athletics departments did not take long to arrive. The University of Akron described him as “a beloved teammate and competitor,” followed by the message: “Barber had been ill and had been suffering from health problems for some time.”.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Shawn Barber, Canadian pole vaulter, 2015 world champion, Rio 2016 Olympian and Canadian record holder,” Athletics Canada said on its X account.