Anna Kessel guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday 5 August 2009 20.18 BST

 The Olympic high-jump silver medallist Germaine Mason has withdrawn from the world championships after suffering an injury at the Stockholm Grand Prix last Friday which will rule him out for the rest of the season.

The news comes as a blow to the British team who have already lost several athletes to injury over the last few weeks – from the Olympic bronze medallists Tasha Danvers and Kelly Sotherton to the marathon runner Mara Yamauchi. There are also fitness doubts over Paula Radcliffe and the defending 400m world champion Christine Ohuruogu.

Mason's withdrawal is of particular disappointment. He was one of very few British athletes thought to have a chance of securing a medal in Berlin. The Jamaican-born athlete had described the men's high-jump competition as wide open after the Olympic gold medallist Andrey Silnov was ruled out with an achilles problem and the legendary Stefan Holm retired last year. "The medals are up for grabs," Mason said before the competition in Stockholm. He himself was just coming into form after a long period of injury, clearing a season's best of 2.31 metres at Crystal Palace two weeks ago.