Charles Merrick Francis (October 13, 1948 – May 12, 2010) was a Canadian Olympic sprinter and sprint coach most noteworthy for being the trainer of sprinter Ben Johnson, the first competitor to be stripped of an Olympic gold medal for using banned drugs, and sprinters

Angella Issajenko Angella Taylor-Issajenko, CM (née Taylor; born September 28, 1958) is a Canadian coach and former sprinter. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984. At the Commonwealth Games she won seven medals, includ ...

Mark McKoy Mark Anthony McKoy (born December 10, 1961) is a Canadian retired track and field athlete. He won the gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He also won the 60 metres hurdles title at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Cha ...

, and

Desai Williams Empson Othman Desai Williams (June 12, 1959 – April 10, 2022) was a Canadian sprinter, who won an Olympic bronze medal in 4 x 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984. He was born in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis. Competing at the first ...

. Francis was banned by

Athletics Canada Athletics Canada or AC () is the national governing body for athletics in Canada, which includes track and field, cross-country running, road running, and race walking. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Athletics Canada is a non-profit organization. The ...

following his admissions at the 1989 Dubin inquiry that he had introduced Johnson to steroids.

Sprint career

Francis was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. As an athlete, he was the Canadian

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

sprint champion in 1970, 1971, and 1973. He finished 6th in the final of the 100 metres at the

1971 Pan American Games The 1971 Pan American Games, officially known as the VI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Cali 1971, were held in Cali, Colombia, from 30 July to 13 August 1971. (One source dates the Games from July 25 to August 8.) A total of 2,935 ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

with a time of 10.54. He reached the second round of the

Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in 1972 with times of 10.51 and 10.68. His personal best was 10.1 (hand timed) at the

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

trials in Vancouver in 1971.Jad Adrian (2010-05-17)
Ben Johnson's Former Coach, Charlie Francis Dies of Cancer
http://www.adriansprints.com. Retrieved 2011-05-10

Coaching career

Francis went to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

on a track scholarship and after retiring as an athlete, became a coach. At 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, athletes coached by Francis accounted for eight of the 14 medals won by Canada's track team. Charlie Francis forged one of the world's leading sprint teams whose runners set 250 Canadian records, 32 world records and won 9 Olympic medals. Francis was coach at the Scarborough Optimists track and field club when Johnson joined the club at age 15. He later admitted under oath at the Canadian Federal Justice Charlie Dubin Inquiry into Drug Use in Sport that Ben Johnson had used steroids to improve his performances since 1981; Francis had coached Johnson until the latter's infamous 1988

Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

disqualification. He was also a vocal critic of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

testing procedure and claimed that performance-enhancing drug use is rampant within the sport. Francis also coached famous sprinters

Tim Montgomery Timothy Montgomery (born January 28, 1975) is an American former track sprinter who specialized in the 100-meter dash. In 2005, he was stripped of his records—including a now-void men's 100-meter world record of 9.78 seconds set in 2002—a ...

and

Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track-and-field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...

for a time in 2003; Francis, Jones, and Montgomery initially attempted to cover up their association but it soon became clear that the athletes were working with him. Francis had claimed for years that elite athletes could not compete at the highest levels without steroids, but when the media became aware of Francis' association with Jones and Montgomery, he stated that he had never worked with such talented athletes and that they did not need steroids to succeed at the elite level. Both were later implicated, with Montgomery admitting his drug use to a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

and Jones going to prison for lying to a grand jury about her drug use. Francis was not named as being involved in these specific drug use cases. He also became a highly sought after personal trainer, working with clients ranging from businessmen to professional athletes in the NBA, NFL, and NHL, including former Toronto Maple Leaf forward

Tie Domi Tahir "Tie" Domi (born November 1, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Known as an enforcer, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and Winnipeg Jets over a 16-year NHL career. He is the Maple Leafs' all ...

, who hired Francis to help him become a better all-round athlete. He authored two books on sprinting: ''Speed Trap'' and ''Training for Speed'', and was the owner/operator of a highly popular (amongst sprinters) internet sprint training forum.

Death

In 2005 he was diagnosed with

Mantle Cell Lymphoma Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, comprising about 6% of cases. It is named for the mantle zone of the lymph nodes where it develops. The term 'mantle cell lymphoma' was first adopted by Raffe ...

, a form of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Francis died on Wednesday May 12, 2010 at

Sunnybrook Hospital Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hospital is the largest trauma centre in Canada. It is accredited ...

, after a five-year battle with the disease shortly after a match had been found for

stem cell therapy Stem-cell therapy uses stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. , the only FDA-approved therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cel ...

, according to statement from his family. Francis is survived by former national team member and wife of 21 years, Angela Coon and son James Francis (born February 9, 1999) Francis' funeral took place on May 18, 2010 at Rosedale Presbyterian Church and was attended by several of Canada's top sprinters, including Johnson,

Angella Taylor-Issajenko Angella Taylor-Issajenko, CM (née Taylor; born September 28, 1958) is a Canadian coach and former sprinter. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984. At the Commonwealth Games she won seven medals, inclu ...

, Milton Ottey,

France Gareau France Gareau (born April 15, 1967) is a Canadian athlete, who competed in the sprint events. Gareau was born in Verner, Ontario. Gareau competed for Canada in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the 100 m ...

and Cheryl Thibedeau.

Books

* ''Speed Trap'' (1991) * ''Training for Speed'' (1997) ] "The Charlie Francis Training System" "The Structure of Training for Speed"

References

External links

Charlie Francis' website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Charlie 1948 births 2010 deaths Track and field athletes from Toronto Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Ben Johnson doping case Canadian male sprinters Canadian track and field coaches Deaths from cancer in Ontario Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Pan American Games track and field athletes for Canada Stanford University alumni Stanford Cardinal men's track and field athletes Deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma Canadian Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Canadian sportsmen