Gianni Frankis

Gianni Frankis

Personal information
Born	(1988-04-16)16 April 1988 Rochford, Essex, England
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) [1]
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	110 m hurdles
Club	Newham and Essex Beagles A.C.
Coached by	Tony Jarrett [2]
Association football career Position Forward Youth career Benfleet Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) Bowers & Pitsea Great Wakering Rovers Heybridge Swifts 2020 Rochford Town 4 (0) 2021–2023 Runwell Sports 41 (20) 2023–2024 Rayleigh Town 21 (17) 2024 Runwell Sports 9 (5) 2024–2025 Benfleet 20 (6) * Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gianni Joseph Frankis (born 16 April 1988) is a British born Italian former athlete who specialised in the sprint hurdles. ^[3]

Biography

Athletics career

Frankis was born in Rochford, Essex and represented Great Britain at the 2009 World Championships without advancing from the first round. In addition, he won several medals at age-group competitions.

In 2016, he switched allegiance from Great Britain to Italy. ^[4]

His personal bests are 13.54 seconds in the 110 metres hurdles (+2.0 m/s, Newham 2013) and 7.67 seconds in the 60 metres hurdles (Vienna 2013).

Football career

Prior to focusing on athletics, Frankis played youth football for Benfleet, before making his first foray into senior football with Bowers & Pitsea at the age of 16, playing in the Essex Senior League. Frankis later played for Great Wakering Rovers and Heybridge Swifts, before focusing on athletics at the age of 18. ^[5]

Frankis later returned to football, playing Essex Olympian League sides Rochford Town and Runwell Sports, before joining Rayleigh Town, helping the club gain promotion from the Essex Olympian League in 2024, scoring 20 goals in all competitions in the process. ^{[6] [7]} During the 2024–25 season, Frankis played for Benfleet and Runwell Sports. ^{[5] [7]}

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing   Great Britain
2005	World Youth Championships	Marrakesh, Morocco	3rd	110 m hurdles (91.4 cm)	13.48
2006	World Junior Championships	Beijing, China	7th	110 m hurdles	13.71
2007	European Junior Championships	Hengelo, Netherlands	3rd	110 m hurdles (99 cm)	13.47
2009	European U23 Championships	Kaunas, Lithuania	2nd	110 m hurdles	13.57
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	36th (h)	110 m hurdles	13.83
2011	Universiade	Shenzhen, China	7th	110 m hurdles	13.79
			5th	4 × 400 m relay	3:08.68
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	17th (sf)	110 m hurdles	13.68

References

1. "EAA profile". European Athletics . Retrieved 25 March 2018.
2. "Power of 10 profile". Power of 10. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
3. Gianni Frankis at World Athletics
4. Coldwell, Ben (31 March 2016). "Gianni Frankis hope Italy move opens options". Athletics Weekly . Retrieved 25 March 2018.
5. "Former GB sprinter Gianni Frankis enjoying focusing back on football". Basildon Echo. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
6. "Rayleigh Town aim to be crowned champions tonight". Basildon Echo. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
7. "Gianni Frankis Player Stats". Full-Time FA. Retrieved 25 January 2026.