‘I was scared of the 200 metres’
WHETHER you like him or not Stephen Francis is a very astute coach, some would even say a genius, especially with his continuous shrewd but sometimes unpopular decisions.
Francis, who in June decided to pull Elaine Thompson from the 100m to concentrate on the 200m for the World Championships, drew the wrath of many enthusiasts because at the time she had at least four sub-11 runs in the 100m.
Two months on, no one will argue with Francis’ decision especially after Thompson’s stupendous 21.66 seconds clocking in securing silver in the 200m in a very fast race won by Dafne Schippers in a Championship record of 21.63 seconds.
“The first time in the 200m, I was scared when my coach told me that I was going to run it at the trials. I was like wow, no 100m for me, but I just worked with him; he is a good coach and anything he has in store for me, I just work with him,” said Thompson.
“I have to give God thanks. It’s the final and I came out second with a big personal best so I can’t complain,” she said with conviction.
Thompson, 23, had by far the quickest reaction time of .149 to Schippers .195. She led narrowly into the straight and in the end just lost close home. Veronica Campbell Brown who ran an amazing curve from lane two, was third in 21.97 seconds. It was the second time in history that three women were dipping below the 22-second mark in the final.
“That was the plan to come out as quickly as I could and I know she is a strong finisher, so I had to head out first but she caught me, so I can’t complain,” said Thompson.
“My coach Stephen Francis prepared me, physically and mentally, and I just came out and delivered as he said and execute as best I could,” Thompson said.
Thompson who became the fifth fastest in history and just missed Merlene Ottey’s national record of 21.64 seconds.
“Yes I am surprised because I wasn’t a lover of the 200m. But he (Francis) told me to take that out of my brain because I am a good 200 competitor. So I just worked with him,” she noted.
Thompson who now has the seventh fastest 100m time for the year with 10.84 seconds and the second fastest 200m time of 21.66 seconds, is from Banana Ground in Manchester. She attended Christiana High before moving to Manchester High.
Now at the University of Technology (UTech) and a part of MVP Track Club, Francis said he decided to make the change from 100m to 200m because of her relatively poor starts.
“I knew she is an extremely good 200m runner and I also knew she wasn’t going to beat Shelly (over 100m) until she can develop her explosiveness,” he explained.
“She is way inferior in terms of where she is gonna be in terms of her power and explosiveness. She wasn’t there yet and she was only going to do one event and it was obvious the 200 would be the one where she can maximise her talent,” Francis pointed out.