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Shawn Barber (pole vaulter)

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Shawn Barber
Barber competing in 2018
Personal information
Full nameShawnacy Campbell Barber
NationalityCanadian
Born(1994-05-27)27 May 1994[1]
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.[1]
Died17 January 2024(2024-01-17) (aged 29)
Kingwood, Texas, U.S.
Home townKingwood, Texas, U.S.;
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st)[1]
Sport
SportTrack and field
EventPole vault
College teamUniversity of Akron[2]
Turned pro2015
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Outdoor 5.93 m (2015) NR
Indoor 6.00 m (2016) NR
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 1 0 0
Commonwealth Games 0 1 1
Pan American Games 1 0 0
Jeux de la Francophonie 0 1 0
World Junior Championships 0 0 1
Continental Cup 0 0 1
Total 2 2 3
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing Pole vault
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast Pole vault
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow Pole vault
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Pole vault
Jeux de la Francophonie
Silver medal – second place 2013 Nice Pole vault
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Barcelona Pole vault
Representing Americas
Continental Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Ostrava Pole vault

Shawnacy Campbell Barber (27 May 1994 – 17 January 2024) was a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in the pole vault.

Barber was a world champion in pole vault, having won the event with a height of 5.90 m at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing.[3] Barber also became a Pan American Games champion in winning the 2015 edition of the Games with a height of 5.80 m.[4] Barber won a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as well.[5]

His outdoor personal best jump of 5.93 metres was made on 25 July 2015, and it is the current national record.[6] His indoor personal best was 6.00 metres from 2016, also a national record. Barber is tied for the Pan Am record together with Lázaro Borges. He also holds the NCAA Collegiate Indoor Record at 5.91 m.

Career

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College

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After competing at the 2013 World Championships, Barber failed to qualify for the final. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow he met with success, winning bronze as a 20-year-old in the event, clearing 5.45 m on the first attempt but failing at 5.55.

In March 2015 at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Barber's 5.91 set a personal best, an NCAA collegiate record, and a Canadian indoor record. Later that month at the 2015 Texas Relays, his 5.90 set a Canadian outdoor record (beating his own 5.71 from 2013) and set a world-leading number for the outdoor season.[7][8][9] After the Texas event, he said, "You know, six months ago if you asked me if I'd be jumping at 5.90 consistently, I would have told you 'No way.' But it's funny how things happen, and I couldn't be more grateful to be where I am right now... Hopefully I can stay healthy and keep it up, and keep raising the bar."[9]

Barber was the 2015 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional Field Athlete of the Year. At the 2015 NCAA outdoor finals in June, Barber won the event with a vault of 5.60 metres. With this victory added to his 2014 and 2015 NCAA indoor titles, Barber became the only three-time NCAA champion for the University of Akron.[10]

Pan Am and World success

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The 2015 Pan American Games took place on Canadian soil in Toronto, Ontario. Barber jumped to a 5.80 there, tying the Pan Am record that Lázaro Borges had set in 2011. Barber had missed his 5.40 vault very badly in the early rounds, bringing on some nerves to both himself and the home crowd. He later explained the slip-up as a result of earlier applying sunscreen with some residue remaining on his hands.[11][12] Barber turned professional and signed with Nike in August 2015, a year short of completing his college degree.[13]

Following the Pan American games in Toronto, Barber next competed in the 2015 World Championships in Athletics taking place in Beijing, where he won the world title with a jump of 5.90 m. This was Canada's first world title in athletics since 2003, though Derek Drouin would match Barber's gold later on in the high jump in Beijing. After the win, Barber said, "I don't think it has sunk in quite yet, and I'm looking forward to the next few days when it does. I was fortunate to be very consistent throughout the meet. That was the name of the game. I came in knowing that it was going to be a meet that came down to first attempts. I couldn't have asked for a better competition."[12]

Barber cleared six metres for the first time in January 2016 at the Pole Vault Summit, improving his own national record and becoming the youngest athlete ever to reach that height indoors.[14] Barber took this momentum into the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. There had been a growing rivalry between himself and France's Renaud Lavillenie since the outdoor world championships, though here in the indoor event Barber did not meet those expectations. He finished fourth while Lavillenie would go on to win the event. Barber was disappointed after, saying that "The nerves were definitely there. Anytime you get together with this group of guys and you start jumping at these heights, it's definitely a nervous event. Coming through on those third attempts definitely helped, and it taught me a lot about my jumping style, and gives me a good platform to go on outdoors."[15]

Olympics

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At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Barber placed tenth in wet and windy conditions. He cleared 5.50 metres before missing on all three attempts at 5.65.[16] After the Games, Canada's Sport Dispute Resolution Centre announced that Barber had tested positive for cocaine prior to the Games, but was permitted to compete as the use was found to be inadvertent. Barber avoided a multi-year suspension, successfully attributing the low-level cocaine violation to an intimate encounter with a woman he had met on Craigslist the night before Olympic trials.[17]

Personal life and death

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Barber held dual Canadian-American citizenship, having been born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to a father, George, who grew up in El Paso, Texas, but was himself born in Kincardine, Ontario. When Barber was 10, his mother Ann divorced his father, and Shawn moved to New Caney, Texas, having already learned pole vaulting under his father's instruction.[18] Shawn split his time growing up between the Toronto area and the United States, and graduated from Kingwood Park High School in Houston.[9] He later referred to Toronto as his hometown and said he chose to represent Canada because his particular sport was more important there, and to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was a pole vaulter for Canada at the 1983 World Championships and a competitor twice at Team Canada Summer Olympic trials.[9][19]

Barber came out as gay in April 2017, the year after his own Summer Olympics.[20][21] He took a break from competition in 2019 because of ankle injuries and family issues, after which his return in 2020 was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.[22]

On 17 January 2024, Barber died at his home in Kingwood, Texas, from medical complications following a period of ill health with no further details disclosed. He was 29.[2]

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Canada except where noted
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 3rd 5.55 m
2013 Universiade Kazan, Russia 11th 5.15 m
World Championships Moscow, Russia 27th (qual) 5.40 m
Pan American Junior Championships Medellin, Colombia 1st 5.35 m
Jeux de la Francophonie Nice, France 2nd 5.20 m
2014 NCAA Indoor Championships[A] Albuquerque, United States 1st 5.75 m
Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd 5.45 m
2015 NCAA Indoor Championships[A] Fayetteville, United States 1st 5.91 m
Texas Relays[A] Austin, United States 1st 5.90 m
NCAA Outdoor Championships[A] Eugene, United States 1st 5.60 m
Pan American Games Toronto, Canada 1st 5.80 m
Diamond League London, United Kingdom 2nd 5.93 m[B]
World Championships Beijing, China 1st 5.90 m
2016 Pole Vault Summit Reno, United States 1st 6.00 m[C]
World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 4th 5.75 m
World Indoor Tour Karlsruhe, Germany
Boston, United States
Stockholm, Sweden
Glasgow, United Kingdom 		Overall 1st 5.89 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 10th 5.50 m
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 8th 5.65 m
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 15th 5.45 m
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 2nd 5.65 m
NACAC Championships Toronto, Canada 2nd 5.40 m
Diamond League Brussels, Belgium 3rd 5.83 m
IAAF Continental Cup[D] Ostrava, Czech Republic 3rd 5.65 m
  1. ^ a b c d Representing the University of Akron
  2. ^ Canadian outdoor record through 2024
  3. ^ Canadian indoor record through 2024
  4. ^ Representing the Americas

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Shawn Barber". Olympedia.org. OlyMADmen. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b Graham, Pat (18 January 2024). "Canadian world champion pole vaulter Shawn Barber dies at 29 from medical complications". Associated Press. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  3. ^ Shawn Barber at World Athletics Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ Faris, Nick (23 July 2015). "2015 Pan Am Games gold medallist Shawn Barber trying to reach new heights for Canada in pole vault". National Post. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Shawnacy Barber". Athletics Canada. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  6. ^ Hossain, Asif (25 July 2015). "Barber breaks Canadian pole vault record four days after TO2015 gold". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Shawn Barber". University of Akron. 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Profile of Shawn Barber". All-Athletics.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d Ewing, Lori (28 March 2015). "Shawn Barber sets another Canadian pole vault record in winning Texas Relays". Winnipeg Free Press. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  10. ^ Maiman, Beth (12 June 2015). "Akron's Shawn Barber overcomes snapped pole to win 2015 pole vault". NCAA.
  11. ^ "Canadian Gleadle takes javelin title, Barber wins gold in pole vault". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015.
  12. ^ a b Gains, Paul (24 August 2015). "Shawn Barber wins pole vault gold at world championships". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  13. ^ Beaven, Michael (1 September 2015). "World champion pole vaulter Shawn Barber turns pro, forgoes final year of eligibility at UA by signing contract with Nike". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  14. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (16 January 2016). Barber joins six-metre club in Reno. IAAF. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Shawn Barber finishes 4th in men's pole vault at indoor world championships". CBC Sports. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  16. ^ Ewing, Lori (15 August 2016). "Canada's Shawn Barber Has Heartbreaking End To Olympics". Huffington Post. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016.
  17. ^ Gillespie, Kerry (6 October 2016). "Shawn Barber tested positive for cocaine before Rio Olympics". Toronto Star. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  18. ^ Ridenour, Marla (17 January 2013). "UA has potential Olympian in its midst in pole vaulter Shawn Barber". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017.
  19. ^ Kantor, Stuart (September 2012). "Shawn Barber". Vaulter. pp. 6–7.
  20. ^ Zeigler, Cyd. "World champion and Olympian Shawn Barber comes out as 'gay and proud'", OutSports.com. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  21. ^ Heroux, Devin. "Canadian pole vaulter Shawn Barber comes out as gay: Reigning world champion makes announcement on Facebook", CBC Sports, 25 April 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  22. ^ Harrison, Doug (30 January 2020). "'I'm going to focus on fun': Shawn Barber happier, healthier in pole vault comeback". CBC Sports. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
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