As of: January 19, 2024, 10:43 p.m
By: Melanie Gottschalk
Comments
Press
Split
In 2015, Shawn Barber celebrated his greatest success: he became world pole vault champion.
Now he has died at the age of just 29, and the athletics world is in mourning.
Munich – The world of athletics mourns Shawn Barber, who died at the age of just 29.
Paul Doyle, Barber's advisor, confirmed the tragic death of the athlete, who died at his home in Texas.
So far there is no reliable information about the cause of death, but
Bild
reports that Barber was said to have been ill.
Shawn Barber died at the age of 29: He became world champion at the age of 21
Barber, a former pole vaulter from Canada who also held US citizenship, reached the peak of his career at the age of 21.
At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, he secured the gold medal with a height of 5.90 meters, while the German Raphael Holzdeppe had to settle for the silver medal.
That same year, Barber also triumphed at the Pan American Games in his hometown of Toronto.
However, disappointment followed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when he only finished tenth.
However, participation in the 2016 Olympics was uncertain because Barber tested positive for cocaine at the Canadian Championships that same year.
However, he was able to prove that the drug had entered his system through a kiss from a woman who had recently used cocaine.
Therefore he was allowed to take part in the Olympic Games.
In 2017, Barber came out as gay.
In 2015, Shawn Barber became world pole vault champion.
Now he died at just 29 years old.
© Sven Simon/imago
The athletics world mourns the death of pole vaulter Shawn Barber
Barber, the five-time Canadian champion, also set a national outdoor record with his personal best of 5.93 meters.
He once managed to clear the 6.00 meter mark at an indoor meet in 2016.
In 2020 he announced the end of his career.
Many former companions mourned the world-class pole vaulter on social media.
For example, Raphael Holzdeppe, who lost out at the 2015 World Championships, wrote: “RIP my friend.” Renaud Lavillenie, who won gold in the pole vault at the London Olympics, wrote: “I will never forget how much fun we had with Shawn in and outside the stadium.
A really nice guy!”
The athletics world has to mourn the loss of a pole vault star for the second time in a year.
Last February, Tim Lobinger succumbed to serious cancer at the age of 50.
(msb/dpa)
My news
Ten years after Michael Schumacher's accident: Brother Ralf honors sister-in-law Corinnalesen
Odonkor's big coup: triple salary reading
Old advertising is doing the rounds: Schumacher and Beckenbauer in the main roles
Anthem disaster before the German Handball European Championship game against Iceland – clarification in TV reading
Michael Schumacher: This is known about his state of health – read “No longer the Michael from before”.
Swiss Schumi neighbors unpack: read “He stayed among us”.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
Find out more about our AI principles here.