Michael Robert Christopher Mason (born 30 September 1986) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er. The 2004 World Junior champion, he has represented Canada at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008. Bid Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Rus ...

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepar ...

and the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

. His personal best for the event is 2.33 metres.

Career

He won the IAAF World Junior Championships gold medal in 2004. From

Nanoose Bay Nanoose Bay is a community on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The location off BC Highway 19 is by road about north of Nanaimo, and south of Parksville. Name origin In 1862, John Enos (Joao Ignacio) bec ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Mason is only the second Canadian to win a World Junior Championship gold medal, following Mark Boswell who won in 1996. Mason holds a number of provincial records previously held by retired Canadian high jumper and 1976 Olympic Silver Medallist

Greg Joy Gregory Andrew Joy (born April 23, 1956) is an American-born Canadian high jumper who stood 6' 4" tall and weighed 157 lbs while competing from 1973 to 1982 for Canada. Biography Born in the U.S. to Canadian parents, Joy lived in Vancouver, Brit ...

, including the BC high school, junior and senior records. Following his world junior win, he set the current NAIA record as a member of the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

and was the bronze medalist at the 2006 NACAC U-23 Championships. He jumped a personal best of 2.27 m to win the Canadian title in 2007 Canadian Senior Championships. He is a member of the Valley Royals Track and Field Club and is coached by Ziggy Szelagowicz. In 2008 Mason improved his personal best during the indoor season, to 2.30 in January in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. At the 2008 World Indoor Championships he finished eighth. He made his Olympic debut a few months later at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and placed eighth in his qualifying group with a jump of 2.25 m, although he missed the final. Competing as a student-athlete, he took the silver medal in the high jump at the

2009 Summer Universiade The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade, was celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1 to 12, 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina (Serbian Autonomous Provin ...

. The year after he represented Canada at the

with a seventh-place finish in the final. He cleared 2.31 m for the first time at the

Baie-Mahault Baie-Mahault (; ) is a commune in the overseas department and region of Guadeloupe, France. It is the second most populated commune of Guadeloupe, after Les Abymes. The extensive industrial zone of Jarry in Baie-Mahault is by far the most indust ...

Grand Prix in

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

, winning the event with a meet record mark. In 2015 Mason improved his indoor personal best to 2.31m at the Millrose Games and his outdoor best to 2.33m at the Edmonton Track Classic. In the leadup to the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Mason came second at the Canadian track and field trials, behind

Django Lovett Django Lovett (born 6 July 1992) is a Canadian male track and field athlete who competes in the high jump. He was the bronze medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, setting a personal best of . Lovett represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olymp ...

. He was thus named to the Canadian Olympic team. Competing at the Olympic high jump event, he ranked fourteenth in the qualification round and did not advance to the final.

Honours

In 2012 Mason was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

Achievements

References

External links