Toronto's Shawnacy Barber the pole vault gold medalist after an upset win at the world championships in Beijing

Toronto's Shawnacy Barber took the momentum gained at the Pan Am Games in his hometown and ran with it Monday in Beijing, winning the gold medal in the pole vault with a successful jump of 5.90 metres on his first attempt.

It came on the heels of several impressive Canadian performances over the weekend at the World Championships after 20-year-old Andre de Grasse, running in a sterling 100-metre field along with Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, ran a personal best of 9.92 to win a bronze medal, tied with American Trayvon Bromell. Barber's victory also gives Athletics Canada its first gold at the worlds since Perdita Felicien won the 100-metre hurdles in 2003.

Brianne Theisen-Eaton won a silver medal in hepthatlon, and Ben Thorne won bronze in the men's 20-kilometre race walk.

It wasn't even Barber's personal best (5.93 metres at the London Grand Prix a month ago), but it was good enough for the top step on the podium in an upset victory over both Olympic gold-medalist and world-record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France, and defending world champion Raphael Holzdeppe of Germany.

Both Barber and Holzdeppe failed in three attempts at six metres; both were successful at 5.90, but Barber made it on his first try while Holzdeppe needed three attempts.

“I don’t think it has quite sunk in yet, (but I'm) looking forward to the next couple of days when it does," said Barber, who won the pole vault competition at the Pan Am Games last month in Toronto. "I was fortunate to be very consistent throughout the meet, which was the name of the game. I came in knowing it was going to come down to first attempts.”

Lavillenie won bronze, along with Piotr Lisek and Pawel Wojciechowski of Poland, after he failed to clear in three tries at 5.90.

In London at the Olympics, Lavillenie cleared 5.97; he set the absolute world record of 6.16 indoors in Ukraine in Feb. 2014.

At the last world championships in Moscow two years ago, Barber didn't qualify for the final. To win the gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Barber cleared 5.80, a PanAm Games record.

Lavillenie is 28, Holzdeppe 25; Barber just turned 21 in May.