Canadian pole vaulter Shawn Barber, world champion in Beijing 2015, died this Thursday at the age of 29 at his home in Kingwood, Texas (United States), for reasons still unknown.

Barber, who had not competed since 2020it was proclaimed world champion in Beijing 2015 at only 21 years old thanks to a jump of 5.90 meters, a mark that he could not repeat in 2016, at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he finished tenth with a mark of 5.50 meters.

The same year, January 16 2016, during a competition in Renothe canadian athlete He reached six metersa mark he would not reach again during his short professional career.

“More than just an incredible athlete, Shawn was a kind-hearted person who always put others before himself. It's tragic to lose such a good person at such a young age,” said his agent Paul Doyle. The Associated Press to report the news.

Barber also won the Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland in 2015, the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada that same year, and five NCAA national championships between 2013 and 2018.

He first competed at the age of 7.

Barber first competed in pole vault at the age of seven. break the American high school record by more than a foot before winning back-to-back NCAA indoor titles for the University of Akron in 2014 and 2015, then the NCAA outdoor title in 2015, Reuters reports.

The jumper had dual nationality, since his father George, his coach for most of his life, was born in Kincardine, northwest of Toronto. When he was first named to a Canadian team, he said he chose to compete for Canada to follow in his father's footsteps.

Barber is survived by his father, mother Ann and brother David.