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Barber was the only jumper to clear 5.90 metres on his first attempt, which was good enough for gold in a star-studded field. Defending champion Raphael Holzdeppe captured silver.

Renaud Lavillenie of France, the world record-holder and an Olympic gold medallist, shared the bronze with Pawel Wojciechowski and Piotr Lisek, both of Poland.

The medal is Canada’s fourth of the competition and the country’s first ever in pole vault. It was Canada’s first gold since Perdita Felicien won the 100-metre hurdles in 2003 in Paris.

Barber, who calls Toronto his hometown but grew up in the U.S., competes for Canada partly because his dad George did, including at the 1983 world championships. The Canadian-born George Barber gave Shawn his first sawed-off pole at the age of four. The Barber boys would leap irrigation ditches on the family farm before George installed a proper pit, under the cover of an old airport hangar.

Asked if he ever dreamed of a world medal, Barber said: “No way.

“I didn’t even know it was a sport until a couple of years into it, I was just doing it for fun. It’s a great past-time for me so far, and for me to be able to come out here and showcase these talents to everybody is a great experience.”

The six-foot-two redhead laid down an impeccable performance at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, clearing every height on his first attempt. Barber and Holzdeppe, the only other jumper over 5.90, then missed on all three attempts at 6.00.