Shock silver for Mason
Germaine Mason sprung a big shock as he grabbed Britain's first medal inside the Bird's Nest in Beijing with a surprise high jump silver.
By Paul Higham
Last Updated: 19/08/08 4:52pm
Germaine Mason sprung a big shock as he grabbed Great Britain's first medal inside the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing by taking a surprise silver in the high jump.
Mason set a new personal best height of 2.34 metres to finish in second place behind gold medallist Andrey Silnov of Russia.
European champion Silnov leapt over 2.36m at his first attempt and then failed with three goes at a world record of 2.42m before settling for just the gold medal.
With Mason taking silver Russia's Yaroslav Rybakov took bronze while Olympic champion Stefan Holm of Sweden finished fourth after crashing out at 2.32m.
Mason was born in Jamaican and won world junior silver and bronze for the Caribbean island before opting to switch nationality to represent Great Britain in 2005.
Mason's father David was a 100m sprint and born in London, while his mother is Jamaican.
Nerves
The 25-year-old was in his first Olympics but showed no nerves as he jumped beyond his previous best to grab Britain's first high jump medal since Steve Smith's bronze in Atlanta 1996.
Team-mates Tom Parsons and Martyn Bernard finished eighth and ninth respectively after failing to clear better than 2.25m.
"I am a bit speechless but I am very happy and overwhelmed. Super-duper!" Mason said.
"I did the best I could, equalled my PB and got a silver medal.
"I was a bit nervous but the crowd were amazing, they gave me energy and I did it.
"I most definitely exceeded expectations. My coach believed in me more than I believed in myself, which is good, you need a coach that is positive.
"I went way above my limits tonight - personal best and silver medal."
