Cam Shaw, a 25-year-old British boxing champion, drowned while snorkelling on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Shaw, who was from York, was on vacation in Cairns with his girlfriend and was participating in a planned expedition when he passed away on Monday.
Dad Rod described the boxer as “a powerful swimmer,” and the family is now awaiting the results of an investigation.
We don’t know precisely what happened, but we do know that Cam drowned, and the investigation is still ongoing, Rod added, as reported by the York Press.
“He was a strong swimmer – I taught him to swim at Water World in York when he was aged two and a half and he reached up to nine out of a possible eleven levels.”
Shaw’s dad continued: “He was a fit lad. He was a professional boxer and fought four fights.
“He won them all, but then Covid struck and he had to put it to one side.
“He went on to become a fully qualified ski instructor in Switzerland and he had just spent a season in New Zealand and he wanted to see one of the seven wonders of the world – the Great Barrier Reef.
“Cam excelled at everything he did and we didn’t realise just how popular he was until now.
“We have been blown away. We just knew he was a gregarious, helpful and convivial guy – he threw his all into everything he did.”
The circumstances of his death are still being investigated, however it is thought to be non-suspicious, according to a Queensland Police spokesperson.
“Queensland Police will prepare a report for the coroner after the body of a man was located at a reef off Cairns at about midday on Monday.”
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We are providing consular support to the family of a British man who has died in Australia.”
Shaw took home the Elite 60KG crown from the Amateur Boxing Association in 2018.
The year prior, he also took home the gold medal at the prestigious Hivdovre Box Cup in Denmark.
Shaw starred in the Theatre Royal pantomime with York pantomime great Berwick Kaler outside of sports.
Before beginning his ski instructor training, he also worked at Portakabin as a production engineering assistant.