{"id":312660,"date":"2017-04-21T07:35:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T07:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=312660"},"modified":"2017-04-21T07:35:07","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T07:35:07","slug":"former-britain-high-jumper-dies-in-jamaica-motorbike-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/04\/former-britain-high-jumper-dies-in-jamaica-motorbike-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Britain high jumper dies in Jamaica motorbike crash"},"content":{"rendered":"
British Olympic high jump silver medallist Germaine Mason has died aged 34 after a motorcycle crash in Jamaica.<\/p>\n
The Jamaica-born athlete, who switched to represent Great Britain in 2006, won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<\/p>\n
He was a friend of sprinter Usain Bolt, who was on the scene soon after the crash at 04:20 local time on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“Usain Bolt was part of the group that came by and he was very, very emotional, and still is,” said Senior Superintendent Calvin Allen.<\/p>\n
Senior Supt Allen, commanding officer of the Jamaican police traffic and highway division, told the BBC: “I understand they are very close friends.”<\/p>\n
He was unable to say whether Mason had been in Bolt’s company that evening, or if the eight-time Olympic champion was in a following vehicle.<\/p>\n
Mason won Britain’s first athletics medal of the Beijing Games, finishing second behind Russian Andrey Silnov.<\/p>\n
British Olympic champions Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Denise Lewis and Linford Christie have all paid tribute, with Christie saying he would never be forgotten.<\/p>\n
Senior Supt Allen said the former high jumper had been travelling from the direction of the airport towards Kingston when the accident happened.<\/p>\n
“Our information suggests he lost control of the motorcycle and fell to the ground and received serious injuries, mainly to his face, head and upper body,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The evidence suggests he was not wearing a protective helmet.<\/p>\n