BY ANTHONY FOSTER, Freelance Writer
Stephen Francis - FILE
WORLD 100-METRE record holder Asafa Powell and his fellow MVP Track Club athletes could be missing in action from the upcoming international indoor season.
Stephen Francis, coach and vice-president of the University of Technology (Utech)-based MVP Track Club, said the indoor season, which starts next month, is not part of the group's immediate plans.
"It's a possibility but at this point I am not even considering it," Francis said yesterday.
Barring Tayna Lawrence, who recently joined the group, no MVP athlete competed indoors this past season.
The group will instead compete at various local meets.
"More than likely, the Grace Jackson, Western Relays, and some people probably at Kirkvine," Francis replied when asked about the local meets.
"I'm sure you will see see all of them, at least once, doing something," he added.
KIRKVINE MEET
The Kirkvine meet is set for the second week in January and the Grace Jackson will be held at Stadium East during the last week of the same month.
The group will also turn out at the Western Relays in Montego Bay in February.
Francis, who also coaches Olympic Games gold medallist Sherone Simpson, along with Helsinki World Championships medallists, Michael Frater and Brigitte Foster-Hylton, said the priority is beyond indoors.
"The priority is the summer outdoor season in order to allow the athletes to last the entire season," he said.
Francis said during the months of indoor season, his athletes should still be going through a lot of their base training.
"The results indoor would not necessarily be as good as they would like. To make sure they don't have any mental disappointments we just don't do it," said Francis, who gained accolades for coaching Powell to his world record 9.77 for 100 metres.
The last time MVP athletes competed indoors was in 2004.
Powell ran 6.56 seconds to win the Milrose Games in New York, and turned up at the Budapest World Indoor in good form but pulled up in the semis.
Brigitte Foster-Hylton also ran indoor that season, at the World Indoor, but this was in the 60m where she clocked 7.32.
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