HE spent a lifetime on the sidelines, stopwatch and clipboard in hand, watching athletes take their places on the track, but at the thanksgiving service for his life on Saturday, Vincent Stephen “Franno” Francis was in the spotlight. He made his final lap down a red-carpeted track, his cremains carried in a platinum urn as athletes he had trained and mentored formed a guard of honour — a fitting tribute for the legendary Jamaican track and field coach who produced world beaters.

The emotion was unmistakable as athletes fought back tears while ushering Francis out of the National Indoor Sports Centre, a stone’s throw from the National Stadium where many of them had delivered some of their greatest performances. This time, however, there was no race to prepare for, no stopwatch to start, and no final instructions to give, only the painful realisation that they were saying goodbye to the coach who had spent a lifetime helping them find their way to the finish line, and now they were returning the favour.

For approximately five minutes, sprint legends Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Kishane Thompson, Elaine Thompson Herah, and many more who spent years being taught the art and science of sprinting stood still as family members, friends, Government officials, and colleagues looked on, reminiscing on the life of a world-class coach.