Ex-Olympic high jump silver medallist dies in motor crash
This file photo taken on August 19, 2008 shows Britain's Germaine Mason celebrating after the men's high jump final at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Mason, who won silver for Britain at the 2008 Games in Beijing, died on April 20, 2017 in a motorbike crash in Jamaica, news reports said. PHOTO | ADRIAN DENNIS |
What you need to know:
- Germaine Mason, a Jamaican-born British high jumper who took a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, died Thursday in a motorcycle crash near Kingston, police said.
- He was 34.
- Mason was killed in an early morning mishap when he lost control of his motorcycle as he drove toward Kingston and died at the scene, according to Jamaica's Gleaner newspaper.
- "Our sincere condolences to the entire sporting fraternity," tweeted Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness.
KINGSTON
Germaine Mason, a Jamaican-born British high jumper who took a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, died Thursday in a motorcycle crash near Kingston, police said. He was 34.
Mason was killed in an early morning mishap when he lost control of his motorcycle as he drove toward Kingston and died at the scene, according to Jamaica's Gleaner newspaper.
"Our sincere condolences to the entire sporting fraternity," tweeted Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness.
Mason began competing for Britain, his father's homeland, in 2006 after having taken bronze for Jamaica at the 2004 world indoors and claimed silver at the 2000 world juniors in Chile and bronze at the 2002 world juniors in Kingston.
"Germaine was an outstanding athlete and a truly lovely man. He had a wry sense of humour and was a pleasure to be around," said Fuzz Caan, a senior high jump coach at British Athletics who worked with Mason during his time as Olympic champion.
"He was a great ambassador of British high jumping. It is an honour for us to have him as part of our sporting history."
Mason, still the Jamaican national record holder in the event, matched his personal best of 2.34m to claim silver at Beijing, one of a then-record 47 British Olympic medals taken in China.
"The whole of the British Olympic Aassociation is incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Germaine Mason," said BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney.
"Germaine was a great athlete, an Olympian and a silver medal-winning part of Team GB who made history at Beijing 2008. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this difficult time."
Other British athletics stars were stunned and saddened at the news.
"This is just awful. Such sad news," tweeted 2012 London Olympic and three-time world heptathlon champion Jess Ennis-Hill.
"Heart goes out to friends and family of Germaine Mason on this sad day," tweeted 1992 Barcelona Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie. "R I P Germaine. Never forgotten."
Denise Lewis, the 2000 Sydney Olympics heptathlon champion, tweeted, "My condolences and deepest sympathy go out to Germaine Mason's family & friends. A tragic loss of such fun & loving person."
Beijing Olympic 400m hurdles bronze mediallist Tasha Danvers called it "a very sad day for track and field... He will missed."
