American Record?

[PV2020]

Hypothetically speaking of course, if Shawn Barber jumps 6.05 or higher, should it count as the American Record?

He was born in the United States, and he is still American. I am assuming he competes for Canada under dual citizenship.

When you think of American Record, you think of the highest any American has ever jumped. So...

[KirkB]

... if Shawn Barber jumps 6.05 or higher, should it count as the American Record?

He was born in the United States, and he is still American. I am assuming he competes for Canada under dual citizenship.

That's an interesting question!

But he was born in Canada, so he's automatically Canadian. From Wikipedia:

Shawnacy Campbell Barber (born 27 May 1994 in Toronto) is a Canadian athlete specialising in the pole vault.[2]

For the geographically challenged, Toronto is in Ontario (a province of Canada).

I know he's lived in the US for most of his life, but that doesn't automatically make him American. He would have had to apply for (and receive) his American citizenship, or one of his parents would have had to be American at the time of his birth. His father (George) is definitely Canadian (he held the Canadian PV title in 1983). Not sure about his mother. I think George moved to the US for work --- not because his wife was American (but I could be wrong).

So if he has dual citizenship, I think he would be eligible for national records on either side of the border. Or would he?

This is distinct from him being able to choose which national team he elects to compete for. I suppose he would be eligible for the 2016 US Olympic Trials (to win a spot on the US Olympic Team), and if he has a bad day there, he would still be eligible to compete for Canada. Can anyone confirm this?

I've never ever heard of a dual citizen holding the Canadian and American record at the same time before, in any Athletics event. Any examples out there?

Oh, by the way, being the proud Canadian that I am, I find this to be a very interesting twist, since Canada usually lags behind the USA in Athletics! Good luck Shawn! I'm rooting for you!

Kirk

[rainbowgirl28]

No, once you begin competing for another country, you lose your ability to set a US record, even if you are still a US citizen.