BIOGRAPHY
Shawnacy Barber Cause of death: What killed Shawnacy Barber?
Shawnacy Barber was a Canadian track and field athlete who excelled in the pole vault. He won the world championship in pole vault with a height of 5.90 m at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, becoming a Pan American Games champion with a height of 5.80 m.
Barber also won a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. His outdoor personal best jump was 5.93 meters, and his indoor personal best was 6.00 meters in 2016. Barber is tied for the Pan American record with Lázaro Borges and holds the NCAA Collegiate Indoor Record at 5.91 m.
Barber made a mistake with his 5.40 vault in the opening rounds but later clarified that he had applied sunscreen and some residue was still on his hands. He enlisted in the August 2015 Nike roster and participated at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, where he won the world title with a 5.90-meter leap. This was Canada’s first global championship in sports since 2003.
During the Pole Vault Summit in January 2016, Barber became the first under-23 athlete to clear six meters, breaking his national record. He carried this momentum into the World Indoor Athletes in 2016, where he fell short of expectations in the indoor race. Barber finished seventh in the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics of 2016 competition, clearing 5.50 meters before missing all three of his efforts at 5.65 meters.
Barber tested positive for cocaine before the Games but was allowed to compete since the use was deemed to have been unintentional. The New York Times reports that Barber successfully attributed a low-level cocaine offense in 2016 to a personal encounter with a woman he met on Craigslist the evening before Olympic trials, saving him from a multiyear suspension.
Shawnacy Barber Cause of death: What killed Shawnacy Barber?
Canadian track and field athlete Shawnacy Barber passed away on January 17, 2024, in Kingwood, Texas, from medical complications. The cause of his death has not been disclosed publicly, but reports suggest he suffered from ill health. The cause of his death remains unknown.
Source: DKlassgh.net