Germaine Mason, Olympic medal-winning athlete, killed in crash in Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Olympic medal-winning track and field athlete Germaine Mason died Thursday in a motorcycle crash in outside the capital of his native Jamaica, police in the Caribbean island said.

Mason apparently lost control of his Honda motorcycle before dawn in St. Andrew Parish, the Jamaica Constabulary Force said in a statement. The 34-year-old athlete was taken to a local hospital but did not survive.

Authorities did not disclose a possible cause of the accident. The Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica reported on its website that several other athletes, including sprinter Usain Bolt, turned up at the accident scene immediately after crash, which occurred around 4:30 a.m.

Mason was born in Jamaica but represented Britain in the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. He won a silver medal in the high jump.

The news stunned Jamaica, a country that takes particular pride in its relatively large number of standout athletes in track and field. Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed “sincere condolences to the entire sporting fraternity” in a message on Twitter.

Condolences poured in on social media: