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Javon Francis seeking to go below his 44.50 PB in 2022

Published:Tuesday | May 10, 2022 | 12:10 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Javon Francis runs the anchor leg of the men’s 4X400 metres at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
Gladstone Taylor
Javon Francis runs the anchor leg of the men’s 4X400 metres at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

BALTIMORE, Maryland.

Now fully recovered from a serious groin injury which he suffered during the semi-finals of the 400 metres at the National Trials last season, Jamaica’s Javon Francis says he is now slowly getting back to his best and expects a great 2022 season.

The 27-year-old Francis switched training camps at the start of the season, after spending three years in Texas with coach Darryl Woodson. He is now coached by Jamaican Olympian Sanjay Ayre at Chase Athletics in Baltimore, Maryland.

He told The Gleaner that he is now fully fit, and he and his coach are taking a much smarter approach to the season in his build-up to the National Trials next month.

“The plans for this year are to stay injury-free, come to the Trials and qualify for the World Championships team,” said Francis. “Training has been good. I have been working very hard and just being patient, and just taking everything one step at a time.”

“This is my first year at Sanjay’s club and it has been good. I like it, everyone in the training group are like a family to me. Everyone wants me to do well, so everyday I have to show up to training and put in the work,” Francis who has personal best (PB) times of 20.54 for 200m (set in 2016) and 44.50 for 400m (set in 2015), said.

Francis, who won silver medals in the 4x4oom and 4x400 mixed relay at the 2019 World Championships, opened his outdoor season last Saturday with a 46.09 seconds clocking in the 400m at the American Track League Orange County Classic in California.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games individual 400m bronze medallist is well known for his blistering anchor-leg run at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which helped the country to secure the silver medal in the 4x400m.

The former Calabar High School athlete says he is aiming to better his personal best this season.

“I feel like this is going to be a great year for me. I am trying to go below the 44 seconds barrier,” said Francis. “I feel like I can hit that barrier. It is for me now to just listen to what the coach says, and just work hard and stay focused.”

Ayre, who is a three-time Olympian, said Francis has been making good strides in his preparations this season, and therefore he should be fully ready for the National Trials next month.

“He is looking very good in practice, because the main goal is to have him healthy going into the National Trials,” said Ayre. “Training is going well for him and he is very consistent. We haven’t raced a whole lot this year, but he is fully healthy now.”