Germaine Mason, 28, the Jamaican-born British 2008 Olympic high jump silver medalist, was axed from the United Kingdom (UK) Athletics lottery funding for the 2012 Olympic season.
Since his Beijing success, Mason’s performance has been lack-luster; his personal best stands at 2.34m, but his season best was only 2.14m. In addition, his performance at the recent Daegu World Championships was disappointing. Now, Mason, as well as four of his high jump teammates and several other athletes, including 100m specialist Mark Lewis-Francis, will not receive the podium level national lottery funding, worth £25,000.
A Results-driven Business
And UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee makes no excuses for the decision, stating that only those capable of medals or top eight finishes at next year's Olympics were on the list for funding.
The axing came after a review of the athletes’ 2011 performances. According to SportsBeat Web site, van Commenee affirmed that, “Progress was made in 2011 but there is still work to be done before next August to make our athletes perform better. A target of eight medals, including one gold, still remains for the London 2012 Olympics… We operate in a results-driven business in which clear decisions have to be made if athletes are not performing to the high standards we set.”
In 2006, Mason, whose father, David, is a British citizen, switched sporting allegiance from Jamaica to the United Kingdom. However, he continues to train in Jamaica during the winter months at the MVP Track Club under the guidance of Stephen Francis, who conditions Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Melaine Walker and a host of other Olympic and World Championships stars.