Stephen Francis, influential coach who transformed Jamaican sprinting, dies at 64

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Stephen Francis, the influential Jamaican track and field coach whose athletes won Olympic and world titles and helped turn the small Caribbean island into a sprinting powerhouse, has died, his club said Sunday. He was 64.

The training group Francis co-founded in 1999, the Maximising Velocity & Power Track & Field Club, or MVP, became one of the sport’s premier training centers, producing generations of Olympic champions and world record holders. The club said Sunday that Francis had died late Saturday but did not disclose a cause of death.

“Stephen Francis changed the trajectory of Jamaican athletics for the better. He proved that Jamaican athletes, guided by Jamaican coaches, supported by Jamaican management, and training in Jamaica, could become the very best in the world,” Bruce James, president of MVP, said in a statement.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness offered his condolences, recalling Francis’ “bold decision” to abandon his career in finance and dedicate his life to coaching track at a time when the most elite athletes in the island of just 2.8 million people sought training abroad.

“That choice helped shape one of the greatest legacies in track and field and inspired countless athletes to believe in themselves and pursue excellence,” Holness wrote on X. “Jamaica has lost a remarkable son whose impact will be felt for generations.”

World Athletics, the sport’s global governing body, said it was “deeply saddened” by Francis’ death, describing how his vision reduced Jamaica’s talent drain and intensified the island’s passion for track.

Among the athletes Francis coached were Olympic champions Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson, former men’s 100-meter world record holder Asafa Powell, Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson and dozens of other international medalists.

In 2017, Francis was awarded the Order of Jamaica, one of the country’s highest civilian honors, in recognition of his role in making Jamaica one of the great track success stories over the past decades.

Francis’ impact extended beyond Jamaica. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said his work helped inspire athletes throughout the Caribbean, including Barbadian Olympic medalist Sada Williams, who trained under Francis at MVP.

“For so many boys and girls across the Caribbean, his work proved that small islands can still shake the world,” she wrote.