Shawn Barber fails to clear 5.65 metres in the men's pole vault final during the athletics competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, August 15, 2016.Frank Gunn
Shawnacy Barber came to the Summer Olympics looking to make Canadian history. But the best pole vaulter the country has seen in more than a century will instead walk away disappointed, after a surprising early exit in the finals.
The 22 year old was stymied in the second round Monday night, failing to clear 5.65 metres in order to advance. For Barber, who was one of only two jumpers in the world this year to clear the 6-metre mark in competition – the other was world-record-holder Renaud Lavillenie of France – the elimination stung.
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"It's just one of those sports where you've got to have everything line up at the right time, and I tried a couple of things, they didn't pan out the way I wanted them to, and that's how it goes," said Barber, who finished 10th. "You get three attempts, and try to make it work in those three."
After bailing on his first attempt at 5.65 metres, Barber cleared it easily on his second attempt, only to watch helplessly as his pole knocked the bar down. He soared over the bar on his third attempt, but misjudged his approach and came down just over top of it, knocking the bar loose.
"It's just how it goes. You've just got to figure out a way to keep the bar up there. That's how we play the sport," he said. "At this point nobody cares how your jump looks, just whether or not the bar stays up or not."
As Barber rose from the mat, he raised his arm to acknowledge a gaggle of Canadian flags in the stands, but clearly looked dejected with his attempt.
He came into Rio as one of the favourites to contend for the gold medal, after winning the world championships last year.
Barber, who was born in New Mexico but calls Toronto home, struggled with his jumps this week, running into unexpected turbulence during Sunday's qualifying rounds as well. He missed his first two jumps at the relatively routine height – for him – of 5.45 metres, before clearing it on his third attempt. He went on to finish at 5.70 metres, which was enough to grab a spot in the finals.
The heights he struggled with in Rio are well below his best jump this season: In January, Barber broke his own Canadian record by clearing six metres at an indoor meet in Nevada. His personal best at outdoor meets is 5.93 metres.
He holds dual citizenship, having spent much of his childhood in Kindcardine, Ont., and was bidding to be the first Canadian gold medalist in the sport. He was also vying to the sport's first Canadian medalist in more than a century.
William Halpenny was the last Canadian vaulter to make the podium, taking bronze in a three-way tie at the 1912 Stockholm Games. Four years earlier, Edward Archibald became the country's first medalist, claiming a bronze at the 1908 London Games, also in a three-way tie.
The finals were competed in soggy conditions, and Barber said the rain had an effect. While some jumpers opted to use sticky spray on their hands to better grip the pole, Barber said he decided to stay with chalk.
"A lot of times your chalk doesn't work any more and you can feel a bit of moisture in your grip when you're trying to grip the pole," he said. "That little bit of hesitation can mean the difference between making a jump or not."
As for his decision to not use the spray, "That's just one method of jumping that I chose not to do," Barber said.
Just as the pole vault finals were to begin, heavy rains poured down on Rio's Estádio Olímpico. The downpour forced the competition to be delayed amid concerns about the safety of the vaulters, where wet conditions can make it difficult for the athletes to get a proper grip as they plant.
"You just try to adjust to the wind, and the rain, and the different conditions," Barber said. "We're all out there making guesses as to what's going to work, and sometimes you take a risk doing one thing or another and it doesn't work as well as you like."
As the rain came down, Barber sat under a covered row of chairs trying to stay focused, then retreated indoors with the other athletes.
It is the latest example of unexpected weather to hit the Olympics, in a city that is typically known for its steady, predictable conditions. August in particular is usually supposed to be a dry, calm month in Rio.
However, on the opening day of the Olympics, rain made the road-cycling course slick, causing race leader Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands to lose control on a corner and tumble forward over her bike into the ditch. Knocked unconscious, van Vleuten ended up in hospital with serious injuries, including a severe concussion and three spine fractures.
A few days later, when the rowing events began on the normally placid lagoon where the competition was to be held, high winds kicked up whitecaps, causing at least one rower to lose an oar, and another boat to be overturned. The winds led to the cancellation of races, and the condensing of the rowing schedule. Some rowers complained of having to compete in the rocky conditions before the heats were postponed.
On Monday, officials allowed the men's 110-metre hurdle heats to proceed after the rains let up, with puddles of water visible on the track during the race. As the athletes approached the finish line, one hurdler lost his footing and slid on his stomach across the finish line, appearing to hydroplane for a few metres down the track. Race officials allowed several hurdlers who did not qualify to advance to rerun their heats later in the night.
Grant Robertson