The Olympic community lost a young star athlete this week as Canadian pole vault record holder and 2015 world champion Shawn Barber passed away at the young age of 29 years old.
According to a report from the Associated Press, Shawn Barber passed away Wednesday at home in Kingwood, Texas as a result of medical complications. No official cause of death has been given immediately, but the Associated Press reported that Barber “had been experiencing health issues.”
“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 said Thursday. “It’s tragic to lose such a good person at such a young age.”
Barber began his track-and-field stardom in college when he won back-to-back NCAA indoor championships in 2014 and 2015 during his time with the Akron Zips. Barber then won gold at the Pan-Am Games and the World Championships in Athletics in Beijing in 2015.
In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Barber made the final in a pole vault event but ultimately did not finish on the podium. However, his best-ever vault of 19 feet, 8.25 inches remains the Canadian record to this day.
Barber was undeniably an incredible athlete who is gone far too soon.
