Cause of Barber’s death is currently undisclosed but Barber had been grappling with health issues
Shawn Barber, a celebrated Canadian pole vault world champion and Olympian, has sadly passed away at the age of 29, as announced by his agent, Paul Doyle, on Thursday.
The cause of Barber’s death is currently undisclosed, with Doyle stating that his client had been grappling with health issues. The unfortunate event occurred on Wednesday at Barber’s residence in Kingswood, Texas.
In 2015, Barber reached the zenith of his career with a remarkable victory at the world championships in Beijing, where he successfully cleared 5.90 meters on his initial attempt. Despite a valiant effort from German competitor Raphael Holzdeppe, both athletes’ inability to surpass the 6-meter mark left Barber as the world champion.
The subsequent year saw Barber’s participation in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, reaching the finals and securing a 10th-place finish, while Brazil’s Thiago Braz claimed gold.
Throughout his illustrious career, Barber garnered three NCAA titles during his tenure at the University of Akron, along with two indoor titles, victories at the 2013 Pan American Junior Championships, the 2015 Pan American Games, and the 2016 World Indoor Tour. His impressive career highs of 6 meters indoors and 5.90 meters outdoors stand proudly as Canadian national records.
