Michael "Mike" Franks (born September 23, 1963) is a former American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed in the 400-meter dash. He was the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

ist in the event at the inaugural

1983 World Championships in Athletics The 1st World Championships in Athletics (; ) were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium (Helsinki), Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983 ...

.Franks Michael

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2011-02-05. He was given the Harrison Dillard Award in 1984 for his achievements. While attending

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

, he took the 400 m title at the 1985 NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship. That same year he took the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the 1985 IAAF Grand Prix Final and two further golds at the

1985 IAAF World Cup The 4th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on October 4–6, 1985, at the Bruce Stadium in Canberra, Australia Austr ...

in the 400 m and 4 × 400-meter relay events. He was the fastest athlete of

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

over 400 m with his personal best time of 44.47 seconds. He competed at the

1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 1st IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in Indianapolis, United States from March 6 to March 8, 1987. The championship had previously been known as the World Indoor Games, which were held once before changing the name. Bein ...

and secured the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

behind Antonio McKay and Roberto Hernández. Turning to the outdoor season, he won at the

1987 Summer Universiade The 1987 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIV Summer Universiade, took place in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. It involved participants from 111 countries and over 6,000 individual sportspersons and members from delegations. Infrastruc ...

, taking the 400 m students' title. He was selected as an alternate for the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics and helped set a championship record of 2:59.06 in the semi-finals (which was later improved upon when the Americans took gold in the event final.Results - 4 X 400 METRES - Men - Semi-Final
.

. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Michael Living people 1963 births American male sprinters Southern Illinois Salukis men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships medalists Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen