He apparently lost control of his motorcycle before dawn on Thursday.

Police in Jamaica said that Olympic-medal-winning athlete Germaine Mason died in an early-morning motorcycle crash.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force issued a statement reporting that Mason apparently lost control of his motorcycle before dawn on Thursday in St. Andrew Parish south-east of the capital, Kingston. He was 34.

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

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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.