Germaine Mason

Germaine Mason (20 January 1983 – 20 April 2017) was a Jamaican-born track and field athlete who competed in high jump. In 2006, he started representing Great Britain. As a British athlete, he won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Career
Mason was really good at high jump. He won silver and bronze medals at the World Junior Championships in 2000 and 2002. His first big win as a senior athlete was at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, where he won a gold medal by jumping 2.34 meters high. 

In 2004 and 2005, he jumped a bit lower, but he still won a bronze medal at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Mason could compete for Great Britain because his father was born in London. His mother convinced him to switch and compete for Britain in 2006.Germain Mason . Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-02-01.

At the Beijing Olympics on 19 August 2008, Mason won a silver medal for Great Britain. He jumped 2.34 meters high, which was the same as his personal best. Only one person, Russia's Andrey Silnov, jumped higher at 2.36 meters.

Death
Mason died in a motorbike accident on 20 April 2017 when he was 34 years old. He was riding his motorbike after a party and crashed.
His funeral was at the Hagley Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kingston, Jamaica. His friend, famous runner Usain Bolt, was there and even helped dig Mason's grave.

Achievements
Representing 1999CARIFTA Games (U17)Fort-de-France, Martinique1sthigh jump2.03 m2000CARIFTA Games (U20)St. George's, Grenada, Grenada1sthigh jump2.12 mCAC Junior Championships (U20)San Juan, Puerto Rico1sthigh jump2.15 mWorld Junior ChampionshipsSantiago, Chile2ndhigh jump2.24 m2002CARIFTA Games (U20)Nassau, Bahamas2ndhigh jump2.16 mCAC Junior Championships (U20)Bridgetown, Barbados1sthigh jump2.23 mWorld Junior ChampionshipsKingston, Jamaica3rdhigh jump2.21 mCommonwealth GamesManchester, Great Britain5thhigh jump2.20 m2003World Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, Great Britain–high jumpNMPan American GamesSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic1sthigh jump2.34 mWorld ChampionshipsParis, France5thhigh jump2.29 2004World Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary3rdhigh jump2.25 mRepresenting 2006European ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden17th (q)high jump2.19 m2007World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan27th (q)high jump2.19 m2008Olympic GamesBeijing, China2ndhigh jump2.34 m

References

Other websites
 Obituary in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

 Official website 
 Management website

Category:1983 births
Category:2017 deaths
Category:Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica
Category:British high jumpers
Category:Olympic silver medalists for Great Britain
Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Category:Road accident deaths