THANK YOU COACH - Powell gives powerful tribute to late Stephen Francis :
As Jamaica bid farewell yesterday to one of its most celebrated track and field coaches ...
jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20260816/thank-you-coach-powell-gives-powerful-tribute-late-stephen-francis
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Jamaica bids farewell to Stephen FrancisThe MVP Track Club founder died on July 4, 2026; the thanksgiving service was held at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
Key FactsAug 16, 2026 · Reading time: ~45 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: jamaica-gleaner.com
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: jamaica-gleaner.com
- At the thanksgiving service held on August 15 at the National Indoor Sports Centre, family, friends, colleagues, athletes and political figures honoured Francis’s sporting achievements, athlete development, character and decades of service to Jamaica.
- Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange described Francis as an exceptional man and said he had redefined excellence in track and field.
- Former world record holder Asafa Powell broke down in tears during his address and needed assistance from former 100-metre hurdles world champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton.
- Powell said his relationship with Francis began after a false-start disqualification in the 2001 boys’ 100-metre final and led through the University of Technology to training under Francis, whose later world-record prediction Powell recalled after achieving the mark in Athens.
Today, I'm not here as a former world record holder or an Olympian. I'm standing here as that little country boy whose life was changed by one man. In 2001, at the Boys and Girls' Championships, I false-started in the finals and was disqualified.— Asafa Powell, during his address at the thanksgiving service for Stephen Francis
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