Germaine Mason

Germaine Mason (20 January 1983 – 20 April 2017) was a Jamaican-born track and field athlete competing in high jump. In 2006, he switched sporting allegiance, and then represented Great Britain. As a Great Britain competitor, he won the Silver Medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Germaine Mason

Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2008 BeijingHigh jump
Representing  Jamaica
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place2000 ChileHigh jump
Bronze medal – third place2002 KingstonHigh jump
World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place2004 BudapestHigh jump
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2003 Santo DomingoHigh jump
CAC Junior Championships (U20)
Gold medal – first place2002 BridgetownHigh jump
Gold medal – first place2000 San JuanHigh jump
CARIFTA Games
Junior (U20)
Gold medal – first place2000 St. George'sHigh jump
Silver medal – second place2002 NassauHigh jump
CARIFTA Games
Youth (U17)
Gold medal – first place1999 Fort-de-FranceHigh jump

Career

Mason won silver and bronze medals at the World Junior Championships in 2000 and 2002 respectively, the latter event held in his hometown of Kingston. His first medal at senior level came at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, when he won a gold medal, having achieved a personal best jump of 2.34 metres. He finished fifth at the World Championships the same year.

The following seasons saw him drop to 2.25 m (2004) and 2.27 m (2005), but 2.25 m was enough to win a bronze medal at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships. The medal was won jointly with Jaroslav Bába and Ştefan Vasilache.

Mason was eligible to represent Great Britain because his father David was born in London. Mason's mother persuaded him to switch allegiance, and Mason's change in nationality was ratified by athletics' governing body, the IAAF, in 2006.[1]

Mason won a silver medal for Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics on 19 August 2008. He equalled his personal best of 2.34 m, beaten only by Russia's Andrey Silnov with 2.36 m. It was Great Britain's first track and field medal of the games.[2]

Death

Mason died in a motorbike accident on 20 April 2017 at the age of 34. Upon returning from a soca party he was riding his motorbike when he crashed.[3] His funeral was held at the Hagley Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kingston, Jamaica. His friend Usain Bolt was a pallbearer and digged the grave of Mason.[4] [5]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Jamaica
1999 CARIFTA Games (U17) Fort-de-France, Martinique 1st high jump 2.03 m
2000 CARIFTA Games (U20) St. George's, Grenada, Grenada 1st high jump 2.12 m
CAC Junior Championships (U20) San Juan, Puerto Rico 1st high jump 2.15 m
World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 2nd high jump 2.24 m
2002 CARIFTA Games (U20) Nassau, Bahamas 2nd high jump 2.16 m
CAC Junior Championships (U20) Bridgetown, Barbados 1st high jump 2.23 m
World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 3rd high jump 2.21 m
Commonwealth Games Manchester, Great Britain 5th high jump 2.20 m
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, Great Britain – high jump NM
Pan American Games Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1st high jump 2.34 m
World Championships Paris, France 5th high jump 2.29 m
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd high jump 2.25 m
Representing  Great Britain
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 17th (q) high jump 2.19 m
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 27th (q) high jump 2.19 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 2nd high jump 2.34 m

References
  1. Germain Mason Archived 28 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-02-01.
  2. Staff; agencies (19 August 2008). "Olympics: Britain's Mason takes high jump silver". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  3. Keogh, Frank (20 April 2017). "Germaine Mason: Former GB high jumper, 34, dies in Jamaica motorbike crash". bbc.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  4. Raynor, Kayon. "Friend's death hangs heavy over Bolt's final Jamaica run". Reuters. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  5. "Usain Bolt Broke Down in Tears at the Funeral of High Jumper Germaine Mason". BET. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2023.


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