Thu, Aug 01, 2024 page7

• Full-time scientist, part-time athlete chases gold

  • AP, PARIS
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  Canyon Barry is a part-time basketball player.

  His full-time job is system engineer for a defense and space contractor.

  Barry, who is taking the courts at the Paris Games searching for a 3x3 gold medal for the US men’s team, has an undergraduate degree in physics and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering.

  

  Canyon Barry of the US fends off Mihailo Vasic of Serbia in their men’s Olympic 3x3 basketball pool match in Paris on Tuesday.

  Photo: AP

  “Scientist, engineer, problemsolver, take your pick,” said Barry, with a slight chuckle and a wink, when asked about his job.

  He is tight-lipped about what his work entails with the aerospace and defense company L3Harris Technologies.

  “I’ve talked to L3Harris and they’ve said to not give too much specifics in terms of programs that we’re working on for clearance and security reasons,” he said. “But we have a great international compliance and trade security, [and] they briefed me on all this stuff and just said kind of leave it at systems engineering.”

  The US men lost their opener on Tuesday night against Serbia, and were last night to play Poland.

  When not with teammates Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis preparing for the Games, the son of Hall of Famer and NBA champion Rick Barry is often on his laptop working on projects for L3Harris.

  Because of the team’s international travel in the run-up to the Games, Canyon Barry would be taking videoconference calls and doing his day job in the middle of the night, while the rest of the team was sleeping.

  The 30-year-old appreciates the support he has received from the company as he has prepared for the Olympics. He is on vacation from his job during the Games to devote his full attention to the chase for gold.

  “Really fortunate to work for that company and what they’ve allowed me to do,” he said. “And I also think that they’ve really matched up with the Olympic spirit because they protect our US war fighters abroad and kind of bringing that American spirit is really cool.”

  The 1.96m Canyon Barry was interested in science from a young age, and despite being born into a basketball family, his mother, Lynn Barry, made academics the top priority in their home.

  “She would always say: ‘You never know what’s going to happen with sports in terms of injuries or when might be your last game,’” he said. “So having ... a career that you’re passionate about and can kind of have an identity outside of sports means a lot to me. Because now, when the ball does stop bouncing, I know that I have a passion and a job that I can go back to that I find fulfillment in and can really enjoy that for the rest of my life.”

  While Canyon Barry’s teammates appreciate his intellect and attention to detail on the court, there are times where they tire of him correcting them off it.

  “That’s never fun,” Fredette said. “He’s always trying to be like: ‘No, this is how you say it,’ or ‘This is the right way to do it.’ So, he’s always making sure that we’re on our Ps and Qs.”

  Still, it is all love between Fredette and Canyon Barry.

  “You can see it when he plays on the court, he has a similar thinking aspect of how he likes to play the game,” Fredette said. “So, he’s obviously one of my best friends — love the guy — and don’t tell him I said it, but he’s super smart.”
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