In a few months, Shawn Barber might look back at a weekend in Paris that turned around his pole vault season.
Battling a swirling wind, the 23-year-old from Toronto cleared 5.62 metres to finish third at last Saturday’s Diamond League meet. While the result fell shy of his season-best 5.71 and personal best of 5.93, it matched the height of his rival and world-record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France.
“He’s competing very well and that’s the thing people overlook,” Barber’s agent and part-time coach Jeff Hartwig said in a phone interview this week from Switzerland. “They see a world champion of two years ago with a [vault] of 5.90 … so 5.62 doesn’t seem like a great result.
“If you watched on TV, it looked sunny and spectacular, but you don’t see the wind conditions. It was extremely difficult for the pole vaulters.
“Paris was a big step forward,” continued Hartwig, “primarily because [Barber] was able to deal with bad conditions, persevere and still perform well.”
Barber will compete at his fourth Diamond League meet of the season Thursday at 2:10 p.m. ET in Lausanne (the event will be lived streamed at CBCSports.ca, starting at 2 p.m.). On Friday, he’ll return to Canada for the national track and field championships in Ottawa, where the men’s pole vault final goes Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
Hartwig assured fans Barber has become durable with transatlantic flights and will be fine to compete at Terry Fox Athletic Facility.
“I think for him it’s more about making an appearance, supporting Athletics Canada and having a presence at home,” said Hartwig, a former pole vaulter and two-time member of the U.S. Olympic teams in 1996 and 2008.
Next Monday, Barber will return to Europe, where he’ll compete in a pole vault-only meet July 12 in Germany, Diamond League events in Rabat, Morocco (July 16) and Monaco (July 21), plus another small meet before travelling to London, England for the world championships Aug. 5-13.
Hartwig confirmed Barber is fully healed from a right calf strain that affected him for much of the indoor season in the spring.
Barber tested the calf in May at Diamond League Shanghai (5.60) and the Prefontaine Classic (5.71 to meet the 5.70 world qualifying standard) while concentrating on his physical preparation in June. Two weeks ago, he cleared 5.75 at the 2017 National Street Vault in Washington.
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“Now,” Hartwig said, “we start to put that together. If you’re a pole vaulter, you want to reach that peak somewhere prior to a major championship. That way, you have a chance to adapt the timing and technical aspect of the event to that physical condition and then you go have your best result.”
Barber’s rhythm, which leads to the confidence to make adjustments, has been inconsistent, Hartwig pointed out, due in part to training, preparation and focus changes through the season.
However, the coach has seen a more refreshed and less distracted Barber overall this season after the latter tested positive for cocaine at the national championships last July, publicly came out as gay later in the month and finished 10th at the Rio Olympics in August.
“He has certainly been more focused in his vaulting, more engaged,” said Hartwig. “You see more energy when he talks about pole vaulting and even on the field. It’s been a positive thing for him.
“It’s hard but you question people’s acceptance, but what he’s found is people generally accept most anything, so he’s been dealing with everything well.”
International athletes to watch in Lausanne:
Wayde Van Niekerk, men’s 400 (3:40 p.m. ET): The South African will race his first 400 of the season after posting a world-leading time of 19.84 seconds in the 200. The 24-year-old broke Michael Johnson’s world record with his victory at last summer’s Rio Olympics in 43.03. Van Niekerk is the only sprinter in history to run faster than 10 seconds in the 100, 20 seconds in the 200 and 44 seconds in the 400.
Dafne Schippers, women’s 200 (2:44 p.m. ET): The reigning world champion has yet to claim victory on the track at Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, having lost the 100 in 2014 and the 200 the next year. Schippers, who’s run a season-best 22.29 seconds, will have to fend off multiple Swiss champion Mujinga Kambundji (23.03 SB) and Lausanne’s Sarah Atcho, the Swiss under-23 indoor record holder in the 60 and 200.
Justin Gatlin, men’s 100 (3:20 p.m. ET): Gatlin, 35, should face a stern test from Akani Simbine, who has clocked six sub-10-second performances this season. The South African stole the spotlight from his American opponent and Canada’s Andre De Grasse with a winning time of 9.99 at the season-opening Diamond League in Doha, Qatar. Swiss record holder Alex Wilson (10.12) is also part of Thursday’s eight-man field.
Diamond League on CBC Sports
CBC Sports is providing live streaming coverage of all 14 Diamond League meets this season at CBCSports.ca and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. TV coverage will be featured as part of the network’s Road To The Olympic Games weekend broadcasts throughout the season.
The following is a list of upcoming Diamond League meets on CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports app:
- Lausanne (Thursday, 2 p.m. ET)
- London (July 9, 9 a.m. ET)
- Rabat (July 16, 2 p.m. ET)
- Monaco (July 21, 2 p.m. ET)
- Birmingham (Aug. 20, 2 p.m. ET)
- Zurich (Aug. 24, 3 p.m. ET)
- Brussels (Sept. 1, 3 p.m. ET)
