Michael Franks (athlete)

Last updated
Michael Franks
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1983 Helsinki 400 m
World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1987 Indianapolis 400 m
IAAF World Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1985 Canberra 400 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1985 Canberra 4×400 m relay
Universiade
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1987 Zagreb 400 m

Michael "Mike" Franks (born September 23, 1963) is a former American track and field athlete who competed in the 400-meter dash.

He was the silver medalist in the event at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Athletics. [1] He was given the Harrison Dillard Award in 1984 for his achievements. [2] While attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale, he took the 400 m title at the 1985 NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship. [3] That same year he took the gold medal at the 1985 IAAF Grand Prix Final and two further golds at the 1985 IAAF World Cup in the 400 m and 4×400-meter relay events. [4] He was the fastest athlete of 1985 over 400 m with his personal best time of 44.47 seconds. [5]

He competed at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships and secured the bronze medal behind Antonio McKay and Roberto Hernández. [6] Turning to the outdoor season, he won at the 1987 Summer Universiade, taking the 400 m students' title. [7] He was selected as an alternate for the 4×400 m relay at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics and helped set a championship record of 2:59.06 in the semi-finals (which was later improved upon when the Americans took gold in the event final. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrick Adkins</span> American hurdler

Derrick Ralph Adkins is a former American track and field athlete who specialized in the 400-meter hurdles. He was an Olympic gold medalist in that event at the 1996 Summer Olympics and World Champion at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. He was the fastest man in the world in the 1994 and 1996 seasons, and holds a personal record of 47.54 seconds. Adkins was a two-time national champion at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio McKay</span> American track and field athlete

Antonio McKay Sr. is a former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters.

Tatyana Petrovna Alekseyeva is a former 400 metres sprinter from Novosibirsk, Russia. Her personal best result was 49.98. She retired from international competition after 1998. A three-time individual Russian national champion, she won 400 m silver medals at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and European Athletics Indoor Championships. With the Russian 4 × 400 metres relay team, she set an indoor world record to win gold at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships and set the Russian record of 3:18.38 as silver medallist at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics.

Sunday Bada was a Nigerian sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres event. He won three medals at the World Indoor Championships, including a gold medal in 1997. His personal best time was 44.63 seconds, and with 45.51 seconds indoor he holds the African indoor record. He set a national record in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2000 Olympics, where the Nigerian team also won gold medals after the disqualification of the US.

Bertland "Bert" Cameron is a retired Jamaican sprinter who mainly competed over 400 metres. He represented Jamaica at three consecutive editions of the Summer Olympics. Cameron won the 400 m title at the first World Championships in Athletics. He was also the 1982 Commonwealth Games champion in the event and won a number of gold medals at regional competitions. He helped the Jamaican runners to a silver medal in the 4×400 metres relay at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryszard Podlas</span> Polish sprinter

Ryszard Podlas is a Polish sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.

Coby Miller is an American track and field athlete, who specialises in the sprint events. In his career, he recorded a sub-10 second personal best in the 100 meters and a sub-20 second best in the 200 meters. In the latter distance, he won the 1999 Summer Universiade and reached the 2000 Sydney Olympics final. He suffered leg injuries in the 2001 and 2002 seasons, but returned in late 2002 as part of the gold-medal-winning American 4 x 100 m relay team at the IAAF World Cup, breaking the championship record. He ran under ten seconds in the 100 m Olympics Trials in 2004, but failed to qualify for the event. However, he won an Olympic silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games as part of the American 4 x 100 m relay team. At his peak he was regularly ranked among the top ten American sprinters.

Asami Chiba, or Tanno, is a Japanese sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She is the Japanese record holder in the event, and has also broken the national record in the 4×400 metres relay on multiple occasions. She is a member of Natureal Athlete Club in Japan and is coached by Kazuhisa Kawamoto.

Antonina Yefremova is a Ukrainian sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. Yefremova received a two-year ban in 2012 for using testosterone at the 2011 World Athletics Championships.

Jeffrey "Jeff" Williams is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 200-meter dash. He was the bronze medalist at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and reached the 200 m final at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He set an American record in the 200 m indoors in 1996.

Deon Minor is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meter dash. He won two consecutive gold medals in the relay at the IAAF World Indoor Championships from 1997 to 1999, setting a world record mark of 3:02.83 minutes in the latter competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrés Manuel Díaz</span> Spanish middle-distance runner

Andrés Manuel Díaz is a former Spanish middle-distance runner. He represented Spain at the Olympics in 1996 and 2000 and was the bronze medallist over 1500 metres at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Slobodan Branković is a Serbian former track and field athlete who specialised in the 400 metres. He is currently the general secretary of the Athletics Federation of Serbia.

Wallace Spearmon Sr. is an American former sprinter. He is the father of Wallace Spearmon Jr.

Matthew Simson is a male British former shot putter. He was the gold medallist in the event at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, which he won with his career best throw of 19.49 m.

Paul Donovan (athlete) (born 11 July 1963) is an Irish former long-distance runner. He was the silver medallist in the 3000 metres at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He was the number one ranked indoor runner that year. He represented Ireland at the Olympics twice: in 1984 and again in 1992.

Inaldo Justino de Sena is a Brazilian former male track and field sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. He represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics in 1995 and took a bronze medal at the 1994 IAAF World Cup. He won two gold and four silver medals at the Ibero-American Championships in Athletics during his career.

Suziann Reid is an American-Jamaican former track and field sprinter who specialized in the 400-meter dash. She set a personal record of 50.74 seconds for the distance in 1999. She was a silver medalist with the American women's 4 × 400-meter relay team at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. She was part of the World Championship team twice more, in 2001 and 2005, and helped the United States to silver at the 2002 IAAF World Cup and gold at the 2001 Goodwill Games.

Melanie Neef is a British former track and field sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. She represented her country at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She set her lifetime best of 51.18 seconds at the outdoor event.

Chris Nelloms is an American male former track and field sprinter who specialized in the 200- and 400-meter dash.

References

  1. Franks Michael. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  2. Harrison Dillard Award Archived 2008-09-06 at the Wayback Machine . USATF. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  3. NCAA DIVISION I INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  4. IAAF GRAND PRIX FINAL. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  5. Listo Anno. Atletica. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  6. IAAF WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  7. WORLD STUDENT GAMES (UNIVERSIADE - MEN). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  8. Results - 4 X 400 METRES - Men - Final Archived 2009-06-25 at the Wayback Machine . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  9. Results - 4 X 400 METRES - Men - Semi-Final Archived 2009-10-18 at the Wayback Machine . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.