The late British high-jumper Germaine Mason could be in line for an upgrade to an Olympic gold medal if doping allegations against Russian Andrey Silnov are proven.

Mason, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Jamaica in 2017, finished second behind Silnov in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On Friday the Athletics Integrity Unit named Silnov among three Russian athletes who have been charged with doping offences as a result of evidence contained in the 2014 McLaren Report.

The other two other athletes cited are Natalya Antyukh, who won gold in the women’s 400m hurdles at London 2012, and the hammer-thrower Oksana Kondratyeva.

Germaine Mason
Germaine Mason finished behind Andrey Silnov in Beijing (PA Archive)

Silnov has been charged with both the use and presence of a prohibited substance. The date of the alleged offence is not clear, and the case is now pending before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Jamaica-born Mason switched allegiance to represent Great Britain in 2006. His first attempt at 2.34 metres in Beijing was enough to secure him Britain’s first medal of the Games.

Mason was 34 when he died on April 20, 2017. Senior British Athletics high jump coach Fuzz Caan described him as “an outstanding athlete and a truly lovely man”.

In July last year, British javelin thrower Goldie Sayers received a retrospective bronze medal from the Beijing Games, after third-placed Russian Mariya Abakumova tested positive in 2016.