Cam Shaw was a 25-year-old British boxing champion who drowned while snorkelling on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Shaw was on vacation in Cairns with his girlfriend and was participating in a planned expedition when he passed away on Monday.
His dad Rod described the boxer as “a strong swimmer.” The family is now awaiting the results of an inquiry. As reported by the York Press, Rod said:
“We don’t know exactly what has happened, but we know that Cam has drowned and the investigation is still on-going.”
“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 went on to say:
“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.”
A Queensland Police spokeswoman stated:
“Investigations are underway into the circumstances surrounding his death, however, it is believed non-suspicious. 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.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office released the following statement:
“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 before, he also won the gold medal in the famous Hivdovre Box Cup in Denmark.
Additionally, Shaw starred in the Theatre Royal pantomime with York panto icon Berwick Kaler. Before beginning his ski instructor training, he also worked at Portakabin as a production engineering assistant.