Francis Phyllis

While studying at Catherine McAuley High School, she mainly ran a distance of 800 meters, and was also one of the leaders in cross-country. She competed in competitions and high jump (personal record 1.70 m) ^[1] .

Having entered the University of Oregon in Eugene , she seriously gained 400 meters in running. At the US Championship among juniors, she became the second with a personal record of 52.93, and at the Pan American Championship among juniors she won bronze in person and gold in the relay. Her results in the sprint grew every year, she became the champion of the country among students. In the winter of 2014, she won the individual title in 400 meters. The result, shown by the Phillies in the arena of the city of Albuquerque , became the new US record in the room - 50.46. She improved Francesca McCory's previous achievement by 0.08 seconds ^[2] .

In 2014 she graduated from the university with a specialization in social sciences. She began her professional career by signing a contract with Nike . For training, the Phillies moved to College Station , to Vince Anderson from the local University of Texas A&M ^[3] . Under his leadership, she managed to break into the main US team. In 2015, Francis won the relay world championship (4 × 400), and also helped the team reach the final of the world championship in Beijing (in the final, the Phillies were replaced, the Americans in the new squad became second).

At the national selection in June 2016 she took second place at 400 meters, for the first time in her career, breaking the 50-second mark - 49.94 ^[4] . This success allowed her to speak at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro . In the personal form, she reached the final, where she finished 5th, and in the relay race she won the title of Olympic champion. Together with Courtney Around , Natasha Hastings and Allison Felix, they showed the time 3.19.06, ahead of the nearest competitors from Jamaica by more than a second.

Phyllis’s sister, Claudia Francis , is also involved in athletics, performing at a distance of 400 meters with barriers ^[5] .

• Phyllis Francis - Profile on the IAAF Website
• Phyllis Francis Profile at all-athletics.com
• Phillies Francis profile at the 2016 Olympics website