Canadian Pole vaulter Shawn Barber passed away at the age of 29

A statement sent by his agent Paul Doyle to The Associated Press stated that Canadian pole vaulter Shawn Barber passed away on January 17 at his residence in Kingwood, Texas. He was 29 years old.

According to the site, the barber passed away as a result of consequences of his physical condition. As of yet, the official reason of his passing has not been disclosed.

“More than just an incredible athlete, Shawn was such a good-hearted person that always put others ahead of himself,” Doyle told the Associated Press on Jan. 18. “It’s tragic to lose such a good person at such a young age.”

In 2015, Barber achieved the position of world champion in the sport of pole vaulting with a height of 5.90 meters. He rose to this position after participating at the University of Akron. In the same year, he was awarded the title of Pan American Games champion and went on to compete in the Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Over the course of his athletic career, Barber encountered a number of obstacles in the years that followed. According to the Canadian news agency CBC, he sustained ankle issues in 2018, and he decided to take a sabbatical from competing at the beginning of 2019.

“I was dealing with some personal issues—injuries, family,” he said to the news presenter in the year 2020 and explained his situation. “There were a lot of personal factors playing roles in my career that I had to re-evaluate and I’m still in the process of managing those relationships.”

When asked about his health at the time, Barber stated that he was “fairly healthy” and that he was looking forward to gradually getting back into the sport.

“It’s a lot of fun to have those early couple of meets,” according to him. “Something I’m looking forward to working on is just being able to show up and have fun at a meet without the sense of pressure.”