When Elaine Thompson-Herah joined MVP Track Club in 2012, she was far from a future Olympic superstar. She had never won a national high school title and was even left off her school’s track team in her final year. But Stephen Francis saw potential in her and spent the next 9 years helping transform her into a 5x Olympic champion. That is why his death at 64 has left the track and field world mourning, including stars like Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

A day after his passing, the Jamaican sprint star took to Instagram to share a series of emotional tributes to the man who helped shape her career. In one story, she posted an old photo of herself alongside Francis from her early days at MVP. “Where it all started. I’m lost for words right now,” she wrote. In another story, she shared a solo photo of the renowned coach with the caption: “Rest in peace to an ICON you will be [surely] missed.”

Thompson-Herah also posted a throwback video that revealed a more personal side of their relationship. Sitting in a car while Francis drove, the pair could be seen enjoying music together. As the song played, the coach appeared relaxed, gently nodding his head to the beat.

Francis was not only Thompson-Herah’s longtime coach but also the co-founder of MVP Track & Field Club. According to reports, he had been battling health issues and was hospitalized in the days leading up to his death while receiving medical treatment. For Thompson-Herah, the loss is particularly big.

After all, Francis was one of the first people to believe in her potential.  After bringing her into the MVP system, they patiently developed her talent. By 2013, she was earning places on Jamaican relay teams. In 2014, she lowered her 100m personal best to 11.17 seconds and represented Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games. A year later, she broke the 11-second barrier, won the Jamaican 200m title, and claimed silver at the World Championships in Beijing.

One of Francis’ boldest coaching decisions came in 2015 before those championships. Despite Thompson-Herah being fast enough to compete in both the 100m and 200m, he withdrew her from the 100m at the Jamaican Trials and focused entirely on the 200m. Many questioned the move, but Francis believed she was not yet ready to double and felt the 200m was better suited to her strengths at the time. The decision proved to be a masterstroke.

Thompson-Herah left Beijing with a silver medal. Their partnership reached even greater heights in Rio, where she swept the Olympic 100m and 200m titles. When Achilles tendon issues threatened to derail her career in the years that followed, Francis remained committed to the long-term process.  That patience proved fruitful in 2021.

Thompson-Herah produced one of the finest sprint seasons in Olympic history and was a successful title defender in both sprint events in Tokyo. She broke Olympic records in the 100m (10.61 sec) and 200m (21.53 sec) and also won gold in the 4x100m relay. She also later ran 10.54 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic to become the second fastest woman ever. But Thompson-Herah was far from the only champion shaped by Francis’ coaching.

How Stephen Francis helped shape Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Over more than two decades at MVP Track Club, Stephen Francis coached some of the biggest names in track and field, including Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Kishane Thompson, Asafa Powell and many others.

Fraser-Pryce paid tribute to her longtime coach on Instagram, writing, “Everything we accomplished together was built on sacrifice in the relentless pursuit for greatness. His standards were uncompromising because he believed his athletes were capable of extraordinary things.”

Their partnership began in 2006 when Fraser-Pryce joined MVP as a talented young sprinter. She later revealed that her sprint mechanics were far from perfect at the time. Instead of rushing her development, Francis spent months refining her technique, working on everything from her posture and arm action to her acceleration and race execution.

The work paid off. Just two years later, Fraser-Pryce won Olympic gold in the 100m at the 2008 Beijing Games. She went on to claim another Olympic 100m title in 2012, win five world titles in the event, and become one of the greatest female sprinters in history under Francis’ guidance.