He was only 29 years old
Former pole vault world champion Barber is dead
January 18, 2024, 11:26 p.m
Shawnacy “Shawn” Barber is dead. This terrible news reached the athletics scene on Thursday evening. The Canadian was only 29 years old. There is still no information on the cause of death. Barber celebrated his greatest success at the 2015 World Cup.
International athletics mourns the loss of former pole vault world champion Shawnacy “Shawn” Barber. The Canadian died at his home in the US state of Texas at the age of just 29, according to Barber’s advisor Paul Doyle. There was initially no information or knowledge available about the cause of the former world-class athlete’s sudden death.
Barber, who also had a US passport and came out as gay seven years ago, had already reached the peak of his career by winning the title at the 2015 World Cup in Beijing. In his World Cup triumph in China with 5.90 meters, Barber prevailed over Leverkusen’s Raphael Holzdeppe, who was the same height, and had to be content with silver. In the same year, Barber also won the Pan American Games in Toronto, before disappointment with a tenth place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Shortly afterwards it became known that Barber had only gotten around a doping ban for Rio with a juicy explanation. On July 9, 2016, he tested positive for cocaine, but the result of the sample was credibly attributed to a one-time sexual contact with an online acquaintance. Barber saw this as an opportunity to “reduce stress before the competition.” The fact that he tested positive for the drug the day after the one-night stand was “an absolute shock” for him.
With his personal best of 5.93 meters, Canada’s five-time champion also set a national outdoor record. In 2016, Barber once exceeded the 6.00 meter mark at an indoor meet.