Mark Lewis-Francis
Encyclopedia
Mark Anthony Lewis-Francis (born 4 September 1982) is a British
track and field
athlete, specifically a sprinter
, who specialises in the 100 metres
. A renowned junior, his greatest sporting achievement at senior level has been to anchor the Great Britain and Northern Ireland
4 x 100 metres relay
team to a shock gold medal
at the 2004 Summer Olympics
. Individually, Lewis-Francis has won the silver medal
in the 100 m at the 2010 European Athletics Championships
, and numerous indoor medals.
Lewis-Francis is a member of the Birchfield Harriers
athletics club and is also known as the "Darlaston Dart".
, instead competing at the World Junior Championships
, in which he won gold. Lewis-Francis became Britain's top 100 m sprinter after Dwain Chambers
was banned for drug use in 2003. He failed to make the final of the 100 mt at the 2004 Summer Olympics
, but days later ran the final leg of the 4 x 100 m relay, holding off former Olympic champion Maurice Greene
, allowing the Great Britain team to narrowly win in a time of 38.07 seconds. The gold medal team consisted of Lewis-Francis, Marlon Devonish
, Darren Campbell
and Jason Gardener
.
As the last of the four in both race and alphabetical order, Lewis-Francis became the fiftieth man to win a gold medal for Great Britain in Athletics at the Olympics.
Despite this and other Olympic and World relay success, his junior success has not as yet translated to consistent performance at the highest level in individual championships. His surprise silver medal in the 100m at the 2010 European Athletics Championships
was his first individual medal at senior level.
Unusually, Lewis-Francis' times have become slower as he has moved into his twenties. Although athletes tend to peak around their late 20s in the sprints, Lewis-Francis peak to date remains his performances while in his late teens. He has turned down numerous invitations to train with the top sprinters like Justin Gatlin
in America, and prefers to stay living in England
on the grounds that he would get 'home-sick.' However he did leave his home town of Birmingham
in 2005 to move to Eton
and train with a new coach.
. Putting a history of injuries behind him, he set his sights on making the 100 m final at the Berlin World Championships
. However, he failed to make the team.
Following a late call up to the Great Britain squad, in July 2010 he won silver at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in a time of 10.18 seconds, his first major individual medal at senior level. As a result he was selected to represent Europe at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup
and he took the bronze medal
while European champion Christophe Lemaitre
won the race. Lewis-Francis gained a second silver of the season at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
: he recorded a season's best run of 10.15 seconds in the qualifiers and he ran 10.20 seconds to finish as runner-up behind Lerone Clarke
in the final, having pulled himself back in to contention after his starting blocks
slipped.
after the European Indoor Championships in Madrid
, Spain on 5 March 2005, and was stripped of the 60 metres
silver medal he won at that event. According to the British Olympic Association
(BOA) rules, this rendered him ineligible for selection to future Olympic Games. In 2006, UK Athletics
, the governing body of Athletics in the UK, accepted that cannabis had not been taken to enhance performance, and the BOA cleared him to compete in future games. In December 2007, after the Christine Ohuruogu
affair, Lewis-Francis was one of three British athletes to come out and state that they had missed three drugs tests.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete, specifically a sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
, who specialises in the 100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
. A renowned junior, his greatest sporting achievement at senior level has been to anchor the Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
4 x 100 metres relay
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...
team to a shock gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the 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...
at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. Individually, Lewis-Francis has won the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
in the 100 m at the 2010 European Athletics Championships
2010 European Athletics Championships – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres at the 2010 European Athletics Championships was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on 27 and 28 July.-Medalists:-Records:-Schedule:-Heat 1:-Heat 2:-Heat 3:-Heat 4:-Heat 5:-Summary:-Semifinal 1:...
, and numerous indoor medals.
Lewis-Francis is a member of the Birchfield Harriers
Birchfield Harriers
Birchfield Harriers is an athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England.Named after the Birchfield district of Birmingham, their previous home , at nearby Perry Barr, was Alexander Sports Ground. It still carries their badge, a running stag, rendered in...
athletics club and is also known as the "Darlaston Dart".
Early career
Lewis-Francis burst onto the scene at an early age but did not attend the 2000 Summer Olympics2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, instead competing at the World Junior Championships
IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics
The IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics are the world championships for junior aged athletes athletes, organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It is held biennially since 1986.-Championships:-Men:-Women:-External links:* at...
, in which he won gold. Lewis-Francis became Britain's top 100 m sprinter after Dwain Chambers
Dwain Chambers
Dwain Anthony Chambers is an English sprinter of Afro-Caribbean descent. He has won medals on the international stage numerous times and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of recorded athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres sprint, in which he has the second...
was banned for drug use in 2003. He failed to make the final of the 100 mt at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, but days later ran the final leg of the 4 x 100 m relay, holding off former Olympic champion Maurice Greene
Maurice Greene (athlete)
Maurice Greene is a retired American track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion...
, allowing the Great Britain team to narrowly win in a time of 38.07 seconds. The gold medal team consisted of Lewis-Francis, Marlon Devonish
Marlon Devonish
Marlon Ronald Devonish, MBE is an English sprint athlete.He is a member of the Coventry Godiva Harriers athletics club and is coached by Tony Lester. Early in his career he was successful at both 100 and 200 metre distances, winning English Schools and European Junior titles at both, but in recent...
, Darren Campbell
Darren Campbell
Darren Andrew Campbell MBE is a former English sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay...
and Jason Gardener
Jason Gardener
Jason Carl Gardener is a retired British sprint athlete, and former World Indoor Champion. Gardener was educated at Beechen Cliff School and the City of Bath College, and went on to graduate from Bath Spa University.-Athletics career:Gardener started his career at the World Junior Championships in...
.
As the last of the four in both race and alphabetical order, Lewis-Francis became the fiftieth man to win a gold medal for Great Britain in Athletics at the Olympics.
Despite this and other Olympic and World relay success, his junior success has not as yet translated to consistent performance at the highest level in individual championships. His surprise silver medal in the 100m at the 2010 European Athletics Championships
2010 European Athletics Championships – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres at the 2010 European Athletics Championships was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on 27 and 28 July.-Medalists:-Records:-Schedule:-Heat 1:-Heat 2:-Heat 3:-Heat 4:-Heat 5:-Summary:-Semifinal 1:...
was his first individual medal at senior level.
Transition to seniors
In 2001 Lewis-Francis won a World Athletics Championships 100 m quarter-final heat in 9.97 seconds, which would have been a junior world record, but a wind gauge malfunction meant it was unratifiable.Unusually, Lewis-Francis' times have become slower as he has moved into his twenties. Although athletes tend to peak around their late 20s in the sprints, Lewis-Francis peak to date remains his performances while in his late teens. He has turned down numerous invitations to train with the top sprinters like Justin Gatlin
Justin Gatlin
Justin Gatlin is an American sprinter. He is an Olympic gold medalist, with a 100 m personal best of 9.85 seconds. He served a four-year ban from track and field for testing positive for a banned substance; Gatlin had appealed the ban in 2009, but it was later denied.- Biography :Gatlin attended...
in America, and prefers to stay living in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on the grounds that he would get 'home-sick.' However he did leave his home town of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 2005 to move to Eton
Eton, Berkshire
Eton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...
and train with a new coach.
Return to top level
After a year out with an Achilles injury, Lewis-Francis engaged in warm weather training in California with his new coach Linford ChristieLinford Christie
Linford Cicero Christie OBE is a former sprinter from the United Kingdom. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games...
. Putting a history of injuries behind him, he set his sights on making the 100 m final at the Berlin World Championships
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
. However, he failed to make the team.
Following a late call up to the Great Britain squad, in July 2010 he won silver at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in a time of 10.18 seconds, his first major individual medal at senior level. As a result he was selected to represent Europe at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup
2010 IAAF Continental Cup
The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 2008 when the IAAF revamped the competition format...
and he took the bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
while European champion Christophe Lemaitre
Christophe Lemaitre
Christophe Lemaitre is a French sprinter, who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. He is the French 100 m and 200 m record holder with a time of 9.92 seconds and 19.80 seconds as well as being the first caucasian to break the 10-second barrier in an officially timed event.At...
won the race. Lewis-Francis gained a second silver of the season at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
The athletics competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held in New Delhi, India between 6 and 14 October. The track and field events took place between 6–12 October at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium while the marathon contests were held on a street course running through the city on 14...
: he recorded a season's best run of 10.15 seconds in the qualifiers and he ran 10.20 seconds to finish as runner-up behind Lerone Clarke
Lerone Clarke
Lerone Ephraime Clarke is a Jamaican sprinter who is the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion in the 100 metres.Like current Olympic 100m champion Usain Bolt and former Jamaican Sprinter Michael Green , Clarke is a former student of William Knibb Memorial High School.He finished fourth in 4 x 100 m...
in the final, having pulled himself back in to contention after his starting blocks
Starting blocks
Starting blocks are a device used in the sport of Track and Field, known worldwide as Athletics, by sprinters to hold their feet at the start of a race so they don't slip as they push out at the sound of the gun...
slipped.
Drugs tests
Lewis-Francis tested positive for cannabisCannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
after the European Indoor Championships in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain on 5 March 2005, and was stripped of the 60 metres
60 metres
60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...
silver medal he won at that event. According to the British Olympic Association
British Olympic Association
The British Olympic Association is the national Olympic committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1905 in the House of Commons, and at that time consisted of seven national governing body members from the following sports: fencing, life-saving, cycling, skating, rowing,...
(BOA) rules, this rendered him ineligible for selection to future Olympic Games. In 2006, UK Athletics
UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
, the governing body of Athletics in the UK, accepted that cannabis had not been taken to enhance performance, and the BOA cleared him to compete in future games. In December 2007, after the Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu MBE is an English athlete, who specialises in the 400 metres; the event for which she is the current Olympic and former World and Commonwealth Champion...
affair, Lewis-Francis was one of three British athletes to come out and state that they had missed three drugs tests.
External links
- Interview from The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...