Former world pole vault champion Barber dead at 29: agent
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Barber had won the 2015 world title at Beijing by clearing 5.90 meters
Montreal (AFP) – Former world pole vault champion Shawn Barber of Canada has died at age 29 at his home in Texas, his agent announced on Thursday.
Barber won the 2015 world title at Beijing by clearing 5.90 meters and captured his other major international crown on home-nation soil in Toronto at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Paul Doyle, Barber's agent, announced his passing on an Instagram posting. No cause of death was revealed.
"A friend that will never be forgotten. Canadian Olympic Pole Vaulter Shawn Barber has passed away," said the message on Doyle Management's Instagram page. "He is currently the Canadian record holder with his personal best of 6.00m and was the 2015 World Champion in the Pole Vault.
"Shawn was also an Olympic finalist at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. He will be greatly missed." Barber set the Canadian indoor record of 6.00 in 2016 at the Pole Vault Summit and cleared 5.93 in July 2015 to set a Canadian outdoor mark.
Barber, who held dual US and Canadian citizenship, took silver at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games after claiming a bronze in 2014 at Glasgow.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Barber finished 10th, clearing 5.50m.
