Thanksgiving service for legendary coach Stephen Francis set for Aug. 15
Key Points(5)
- The thanksgiving service for late head coach and founder of the MVP Track Club, Stephen ‘Franno’ Francis, will be held on Saturday, August 15, at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.
- In making the announcement during the sitting of Parliament on Tuesday, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, said Francis’s untimely departure has left a void not only in the track and field community but also in the soul of the nation.
- “Franno was not just a coach; he was a master architect of human potential who redefined the boundaries of what Jamaican athletes could achieve on the global stage.
- His journey, characterised by an uncompromising commitment to excellence and a fierce, almost stubborn belief in local talent, transformed the landscape of sprinting forever,” she said.
- The world-renowned track and field coach died on Saturday, July 4, at the age of 64, just a day after his birthday.
The thanksgiving service for the late Jamaican track and field coach Stephen "Franno" Francis will be held on Saturday, Aug. 15, at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.
The announcement was made Tuesday in Parliament by Jamaica's Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange.
Grange paid tribute to Francis, the founder and head coach of the MVP Track Club, describing his death as a significant loss for both Jamaica's athletics community and the nation.
"Franno was not just a coach; he was a master architect of human potential who redefined the boundaries of what Jamaican athletes could achieve on the global stage," Grange said.
"His journey, characterised by an uncompromising commitment to excellence and a fierce, almost stubborn belief in local talent, transformed the landscape of sprinting forever," she added.
Francis, one of Jamaica's most celebrated track and field coaches, died on Saturday, July 4, at the age of 64, one day after celebrating his birthday.
Widely regarded as one of the country's greatest athletics coaches, Francis built the MVP Track Club into one of the world's premier sprint training programs, guiding numerous Jamaican athletes to Olympic and World Championship success. His passing prompted an outpouring of tributes from athletes, coaches and sporting organizations in Jamaica and around the world.
