2015 World champion pole vaulter Shawn Barber dead at 29
The Canadian record holder made the Olympic final at the 2016 Games in Rio
Athletics
Rio 2016 Olympic pole vaulter Shawn Barber of Canada passed away Wednesday (17 January) at age 29.
According to the Associated Press, the 2015 world champion and Canadian record holder had been experiencing health issues but a cause of death is not currently known.
“More than just an incredible athlete, Shawn was such a good-hearted person that always put others ahead of himself,” Barber's agent Paul Doyle told the AP. “It’s tragic to lose such a good person at such a young age.”
Doyle confirmed that Barber passed at his home in Texas.
In addition to competing at the Rio Games, where he made the pole vault final and finished tenth, and his world title, Doyle is the 2015 Pan Am Games gold medallist and twice a medal winner at the Commonwealth Games (silver, 2018; bronze, 2014).
His best vault was six metres which is still the Candian record.