Jamaica’s greatest female athletes salute Francis

Fraser-Pryce: We have lost a visionary, a mentor, and a man whose influence
transcended the track.

Thompson-Herah: The greatest to ever do it. Rest in peace to an icon, you will surely be missed.

Following the passing of MVP Track Club’s legendary coach Stephen ‘Franno’ Francis, athletes who have worked with the coach took the time to pay tribute to his exemplary career and character.

MVP Track Club announced the passing of their co-founder and technical director in a press release yesterday, confirming that Francis passed away on July 4, 2026, one day after his 64th birthday.

Francis passed way late Saturday night in the hospital where, the club confirmed, he was being treated by a medical team.

During his coaching career, Francis guided several of Jamaica’s best athletes, including the likes of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Asafa Powell, Shericka Jackson, Melaine Walker, Sherone Simpson, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Germaine Mason, among others.

Francis also unearthed several of Jamaica’s current and new generation of athletes, like Kishane Thompson, Tia Clayton and Tina Clayton.

Seventeen-time World Championship medallist and eight-time Olympic medallist Fraser-Pryce remembered Francis as a ‘steady source of guidance’ throughout their over decade-long relationship.

“Jamaica has lost more than one if its greatest athletics coaches. We have lost a visionary, a mentor, and a man whose influence transcended the track,” Fraser-Pryce wrote.

“He was not only my coach, but a steady source of guidance during some of the most defining moments of my career. He challenged me to dream beyond my circumstances, demanded excellence with every race, and instilled in me the confidence and resilient spirit that shaped the woman I would become.

She continued, “His legacy is etched in every medal won, every record broken, and every young Jamaican athlete who dares to dream.”

Thompson-Herah took to Instagram to pay her tributes to the coach she credited as the foundation for her career.

“Where it all started. I’m lost for words right now,” Thompson-Herah wrote. “Thanks for paving the way. The greatest to ever do it. Rest in peace to an icon, you will surely be missed.”

Jamaican sprinter Kemba Nelson also paid tribute to Francis, sharing an anecdote with the coach during her time at the University of Technology.

Outside of being a veteran track and field coach, Francis also had a mind for finance, graduation from the University of West Indies (UWI) with a BSc in Management Studies and an MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan.

With his background in finance, Nelson said Francis was the perfect tutor ahead of her university economics exam.

“Had a D going into my econ exam at UTech. He sat down with me for 30 mins before my final exam one day and explained everything that I didn’t understand off the top of his head. Passed the course and went on to doing my degree in econ,” Nelson shared on X (formerly known as Twitter).

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com