Legendary athletics coach Stephen Francis has died

Jamaica’s and the world’s foremost athletics coach, Stephen Francis, has died. He turned 64 on Friday, July 3 and passed on Saturday, July 4.

He was ailing for some time and was hospitalised. The cause of death is not known as yet.

Francis, was the co-founder of the MVP (Maximising Velocity and Power) Track & Field Club in 1999, which played its part in elevating Jamaica’s athletics to be one of the best in the world. He is considered the greatest of all time.

Franno as he is called, started MVP alongside his brother Paul Francis, David Noel, and current president Bruce James at Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Kingston to provide local elite athletes an alternative to accepting overseas collegiate scholarships in the United States.

By keeping world-class athletic development strictly within Jamaica using local infrastructure, Francis successfully proved that homegrown coaches and facilities could produce dominant Olympic and World Champions.

Under Francis’ direction, MVP athletes have amassed a massive medal count: 56 World Championship medals and 28 Olympic medals. Under the MVP Track Club banner includes some of the greatest names in sprinting history.

Asafa Powell joined in 2001 with a personal best of 10.81s; broke the 100m World Record twice under Francis, running 9.77s and 9.74s. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, multiple Olympic 100m gold medals and four World Championship titles, cementing her legacy as one of the greatest female sprinters of all time.

Elaine Thompson-Herah: Developed into a double-sprint Olympic champion and the fastest woman alive. He guided Melaine Walker to Olympic gold in the 400m hurdles and more recently Kishane Thompson to win silver at both the Olympic and World Championships, and twins Tina and Tia Clayton.

Other notable global medalists are Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Sherone Simpson, and Michael Frater.

Francis was given the Order of Jamaica in 2017 by the Jamaican government in recognition for his outstanding work in athletics.