Jamaican athletics coach Stephen Francis, who trained such stars as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Asafa Powell, died on Saturday, his MVP Track & Field Club announced on Sunday.
Francis, who died a day after his 64th birthday, shaped a generation of Jamaican sprint stars and co-founded the MVP club, which said last week he had been hospitalized.
"Stephen was a visionary coach, mentor and leader whose unwavering commitment to excellence transformed the landscape of athletics in Jamaica and inspired generations of athletes," the club said in a statement.
Bruce James, president of the MVP club, said Francis "proved that Jamaican athletes, guided by Jamaican coaches, supported by Jamaican management and training in Jamaica, could become the very best in the world."
"His vision, uncompromising pursuit of excellence and belief in the potential of our athletes transformed not only countless individual careers but also the standing of Jamaican athletics on the global stage.
"His legacy will endure for generations."
Fraser-Price, a 10-time world champion, won 100-meter Olympic women's gold at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics and was on the podium in the event at the 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Powell and fellow MVP sprinter Michael Frater were on world and Olympic 4x100 champion relays for Jamaica.
Kishane Thompson, the 2024 Paris Olympic and 2025 Tokyo world championship 100m runner-up, also worked under Francis as did two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson.