Pole Vaulter Shawn Barber is DEAD TO ME!

Shawn Barber, a world champion pole vaulter who came out publicly as gay, has died. He was 29.

According to reports, Barber died on Wednesday at his home in Texas due to what is being described simply as “medical complications.”

Barber, competing for his home nation of Canada, won gold at the 2015 World Championships. Over the years he also took home gold at the Pan American Games, as well as a silver and bronze at the Commonwealth Games. He competed at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, finishing 10th.

In 2017, Barber wrote a post on Facebook talking publicly for the first time about being gay.

“Gay and proud,” Barber wrote at the time. “Thank you to my parents for being such a great support. I continue to grow as a person and have a great support group. My parents are my greatest support and have helped me through a lot recently. To my friends, you are always my friends and i love you too!” After his initial coming-out post, Barber chose the subdued approach to being out, talking rarely about it and instead focusing on his competition and his personal life.

Outsports sends our condolences to Barber’s friends and family. He will be remembered as someone who was willing to be his true self openly and “proudly,” so that others might feel they can do the same. He will be missed.

This is sad. He was a gifted athlete.

What’s with these young(ish) heathen gay athletes dying this week. It must be the vaccine!

He was cute.

What a shame

It is always especially upsetting when attractive people die

Any nudes?

[quote] Any nudes?

We’ll contact the undertaker, Mr. Pffeifer (the “p” is not silent) to ask.

Adorable

Perplexing. Young and in great shape. What was the medical complication? I hope that it wasn't cardiac-related.

Look as those (now dead) arms

[quote] ] Barber came out as gay in April 2017.[24][25] On January 17, 2024, Barber died at his home in Kingwood, Texas from "medical complications" following a period of ill health

AIDS?

AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Unless he had a virulent strain. Is that possible?

COVID denier and vaccineless?

COVID believer and poisoned by the vaccine?

Meth?

[quote] The world champion pole vaulter Shawn Barber was allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics despite testing positive for cocaine he inadvertently ingested during an encounter with a woman he met on the personals site Craigslist.

Acne can be terminal?

He had a hot athletic ass that vaulted so high of the ground…but he couldn’t life forever

Now, he’s lifting those pale world class athlete legs in heaven

Farewell Shawnacy

Rest In Peace

That’s a damned shame.

We’re losing firecrotches at an alarming rate.

I’m thinking of the recently departed soap star, for one…

[quote] I’m thinking of the recently departed soap star, for one…

Bill Hayes?

OP you really sucks at this post

Where is the picture? Datalounge creepers don’t click on a post with words…they stop because they see a hot young guy.

And where is the GAY I’m the title? GAY POLE VAULTER…

SMH

Shut up bitch @ R21. You should have known who he was anyway? Give me your gay card.

EXACTLY …put GAY in the headline moron OP

And make sure that a pic shows up before you publish it

Eat shit and die R23. You are obviously too stupid to realize who he was. And you're only concerned about his looks? Pathetic.

Appearance is ALL that gay men care about and this a gay website idiot OP

Why was he meeting women on Craigslist if he was gay? I don't think he "inadvertently" ingested cocaine with that woman. I think that woman was his dealer.

Women?

R21, R23 and R25 all come from the same tedious poster.

Poor guy, he was way too young. Houston also has some great cancer hospitals/treatment centers , hopefully he wasn’t battling cancer and lost.

Duh r28

This tedious poster is trying to HELP you and increase the quality of your posts. Good subject, but you deeply failed in your execution.

I’m also half on the posts in your thread…the ones with PICTURES

I want the best for you. Really I do.

What a shame. R.I.P. condolences to his family.

That weirdo was blocked long ago. I love this feature.

It's a valid point to make -- threads with photos in the OP (particularly if they are of hot guys) tend to get more responses.

He did have great hamstrings like most pole vaulters.

He sure could vault.

R21 is a saint. A SAINT.

It's 2024. Why in the world do they have to define his sexuality? How many hetero athletes have died. and were defined by their sexuality in their obits ? How many have said "he was heterosexual" for clarification ? The press really needs to end this.

Huge cute freckles all over his body. Any skin that got any amount of sunlight.

"Medical complications" is not a cause of death. Gobbledygook.

R26 Right? Why was he meeting a woman from craigslist? I'm assuming she was a dealer. Why even mention it? Sell that shit to the tourists, we at DL know that if you're meeting someone from CL and then test dirty for drugs, you were meeting that person to buy drugs. I wonder what his story was, "I was meeting her to buy a couch and clearly the couch was laced with speed." It's a weird excuse to use.