JAMAICA | ‘A Giant and Genius Has Taken His Rest’ — Wolmer’s Trust Pays Tribute to Stephen Francis, OJ
Stephen Francis -A giant and genius, has taken his rest. May his soul, rest in peace and light perpetual shine upon him.
The storied institution north of National Heroes Park salutes the old boy who left the world of finance to shatter the myth that world-beating athletes could not be made in Jamaica
KINGSTON, Jamaica — BY CALVIN G. BROWN- JULY 6, 2026 - The Wolmer’s Trust has paid a moving tribute to its distinguished alumnus, legendary sprint coach Stephen Francis, OJ, declaring that “a giant and genius, has taken his rest” and celebrating an outstanding Jamaican “who made his home on the field of play and who has finished valiantly his race on earth.”
Francis, co-founder and technical director of the MVP Track & Field Club, died in hospital late Saturday, one day after celebrating his 64th birthday. His passing has drawn a flood of tributes from across Jamaica, the wider Caribbean and the global athletics fraternity — but few carry the intimacy of the statement issued by the Trust that governs the institution where his remarkable journey began.
Nurtured North of National Heroes Park
“Wolmerians at home and abroad, and all of Jamaica, celebrate the life, contribution and legacy of our distinguished alumnus, Stephen Francis, OJ,” the Trust said in the statement signed by its Chairman, Milton J. Samuda.
Francis, it recalled, was nurtured at “that great institution north of National Heroes Park, Wolmer’s Trust High School for Boys, where his mind became fertile, and his love for track and field was planted and bloomed.”
The Trust traced an academic journey it described as exemplary — Francis captained Wolmer’s winning 1982 Schools’ Challenge Quiz team before proceeding to the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies, where he graduated with a BSc in Management Studies, and later read for his MBA in Finance at the University of Michigan Business School, again with distinction. “But that was not to be his path!” the statement noted.
The Architecture of Greatness
“It was his life thereafter that birthed a DNA of greatness as a coach and mentor in Track & Field, as the founding spirit of the MVP Track Club, the human products of which were his architecture,” the Trust declared, hailing Francis as “arguably the most successful sprint coach in the history of Track & Field” who “gifted the world an admirable life of unparalleled technical expertise and competencies crowned in brilliant successes.”
The record bears out the claim. From the club he co-founded in 1999 alongside his brother Paul and others, Francis guided Asafa Powell to the 100-metre world record of 9.77 seconds in 2005; steered Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to Olympic 100m gold in 2008 and 2012; and moulded Elaine Thompson-Herah into a double sprint champion at both the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Games.
World 200m champion Shericka Jackson, Olympic 100m silver medallist Kishane Thompson, and a generation of stars from Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Melaine Walker to the Clayton twins all passed through his hands. In 2017, the nation conferred on him the Order of Jamaica for his contribution to sport.
Yet the Trust was careful to celebrate the man as much as the medals. Francis, it said, “always remained grounded and humble. He was forthright and honest, and never played to the gallery. He was impatient of mediocrity and proved his words through performance, and that in and of itself is an example to leaders at every level.”
Cracking the Myth: Greatness ‘Made in Jamaica’
The most arresting passage of the tribute, however, insists that Francis’ greatest achievement “lay not in his record-breaking success as a coach.” Rather, the Trust argued, it is “safely rooted in his proving to his countrymen and especially to the youth of our country, that great things can be ‘made in Jamaica’.”
“It is in the irrevocable cracking of that debilitating myth that athletes, particularly in Track & Field, had to be trained elsewhere if they were to compete and succeed at the highest level.”— The Wolmer’s Trust
“Stephen shattered that myth, adding to the growing sense of self and of confidence which Jamaica must harness if it is to make its way in an increasingly competitive world, unforgiving of failure. That truly is his legacy and contribution!” the statement continued. “It transcends medals and championships; it goes to the essence of the Jamaica and Jamaican we must sculpt from now, for the future.”
It is a sentiment now echoing far beyond Heroes Circle. Prime Minister Andrew Holness has described Francis’ contribution to Brand Jamaica as immeasurable, while Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley noted that his work inspired athletes across the region — proof, she suggested, that small islands can still command the world stage.
‘His Race on Earth’
“In the depth of this searing loss to Wolmer’s, Jamaica and the World, Wolmer’s rises to celebrate an accomplished resident of our household, an outstanding Jamaican and citizen of the World,” the Trust concluded, extending sincere condolences to Francis’ brother Paul and the entire Francis family, to his MVP family, and to all who love track and field “and who embraced Stephen as part of that love.”
“May his soul, rest in peace and light perpetual shine upon him.”
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