Many of the teenagers who helped each other strike Gold for the Norwich Union Great Britain &amp; Northern Ireland Team at last October&rsquo;s IAAF World Junior Championships meet again as rivals at the Norwich Union AAA Under 20 Indoor Championships at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 February. It is the first major Junior meeting of the year and has attracted record entries, 30 per cent up on last winter. World Junior 100m Champion Mark Lewis-Francis (Birchfield Harriers) lines up in the 60m against the three team-mates with whom he won the 4x100m title in Santiago &ndash; Dwayne Grant (Blackheath Harriers), Tyrone Edgar (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) and the World Junior 200m Bronze medallist, Tim Benjamin (Cardiff AAC). Their presence suggests the championship best time of 6.66 seconds, clocked by Olympic 100m finalist Dwain Chambers (Belgrave Harriers), will be under threat. While Benjamin is the defending Champion, 18-year-old Lewis-Francis lowered his own best down to 6.65 seconds at the Norwich Union Indoor Grand Prix at the NIA on 18 February. With Lewis-Francis insisting he still cannot sprint round a bend, Edgar and Grant head the 200m entries &ndash; and Benjamin has added his name to the 400m contenders. Two of the Junior women who unexpectedly won the 4x400m for Britain in Santiago, Kim Wall (Basildon AC) and Lisa Miller (Cambridge Harriers), are due to clash in a 200m which could threaten the high quality championship best of 23.31 seconds by Olympian Sarah Wilhemy (Southend AC). Also among the entry are Vernicha James (Belgrave Harriers), who was fifth in the 200m in Santiago and the reigning Champion, Lowri Jones (Cardiff AAC). James, Wall and Miller are also entered in the 60m &ndash; as are two more of Britain&rsquo;s Santiago stars, sprint hurdlers Sara McGreavy (Leamington C&amp;AC) and Helen Worsey (Birchfield Harriers &ndash; though Wall may opt for the 400m. Others from the World Juniors Team in action at the NIA include Chuka Enih-Snell (Swansea Harriers) in the high jump, Rebecca Lyne (Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield) in the 800m, Ellie Spain (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers) aiming to improve the pole vault championship best of 3.65m she set last year, and Claire Smithson (Brighton &amp; Hove AC) in the shot put.UK Athletics for the IAAF

Many of the teenagers who helped each other strike Gold for the Norwich Union Great Britain & Northern Ireland Team at last October’s IAAF World Junior Championships meet again as rivals at the Norwich Union AAA Under 20 Indoor Championships.

Santiago stars seek AAA Under 20 Indoor Titles

Britain's teenage sprint sensation and IAAF World junior champion Mark Lewis-Francis has turned to top agent Kim McDonald to manage what is forecast to be a world class career. The hottest young sprinting property widely tipped by many leading stars - including the 1996 gold medallist Donovan Bailey of Canada - to emerge as a major challenger for the 2004 title in Athens if he maintains his progress, has joined McDonald's world class stable of athletes. Lewis-Francis 18, after placing third in the British Olympic trials raised eyebrows when ruling himself out of contention to compete in the Sydney Games preferring because of his youth to concentrate on the IAAF World Junior Championships. The Birchfield Harrier's decision was justified when he returned from Santiago with two gold medals. In the 100 metres he equalled the championship best performance of 10.12 seconds and anchored the British 4x100 metres relay squad to a European junior record of 39.05 seconds. Now the Midlander has turned to Teddington-based McDonald who in the past has predominantly looked after the interests of distance runners to manage what should be a lucrative financial career. Over the years he has successfully managed the careers of Steve Ovett, Peter Elliott, Liz McColgan, Sonia O'Sullivan and a string of outstanding Kenyan's including multi World record holders Moses Kiptanui, Daniel Komen and Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist Noah Ngeny. McDonald one of the first to realise agents would become essential when the sport became professional in the mid-1980s has ventured for the first time into planning the career of a top sprinter although he also looks after the interests of Britain's No1 400 metres hurdler Chris Rawlinson. McDonald said: "If Mark continues to progress the way he's been doing there's no reason why, by Athens when he won't be even 22, he shouldn't be one of the leading contenders for the title." Lewis-Francis whose major aim this summer is to win the European junior 100 metres gold medal and gain an individual slot for the World Championships in Edmonton, said: "Last season I wanted to accomplish something I set out to do, which was win the World Juniors. That was partly because I'd been pipped to the European junior title last year. Now I want to win that as a warm-up to the World Championships." As good as Lewis-Francis who tops this year's World junior list with a time of 10.10 seconds might be he knows the road to success Athens will be far from easy. But level headed since first emerging as a 16-year-old his link-up with the highly influential McDonald should ensure he gets into the right races in the World's major Golden League and Grand Prix meetings - essential competition before Edmonton. Dave Martin for the IAAF

Britain's teenage sprint sensation and IAAF World junior champion Mark Lewis-Francis has turned to top agent Kim McDonald to manage what is forecast to be a world class career

Lewis-Francis teams up with McDonald

New World Junior 100m Champion Mark Lewis-Francis (Birchfield Harriers) is "just the blink of an eyelid" away from greatness, says UK Athletics Performance Director Max Jones But the 18-year-old will not be rushed as he strives to cover the small time difference between him and the top seniors such as World and Olympic Champion Maurice Greene (USA). Jones is well aware of the pressures of expectation that have been heaped on Mark - and his advisors at Birchfield - since he became the fastest 17-year-old ever in July by clocking 10.10 seconds at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at Crystal Palace. Having supported Mark’s decision not to go to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games - even though he was third in the Norwich Union Olympic Trials and AAA Championships, Jones was "absolutely delighted" with his stunning World Junior Championships victory in Santiago, Chile, last night in 10.12 seconds. The inevitable question is: What does Mark do now? "He takes one year at a time, as his club has been encouraging him to do since he joined them as a 13-year-old," answers Jones. "I’ve heard people tipping him as a future Olympic Champion and I hope they’re right. But he shouldn’t be thinking the Gold medal is his in Athens. "In a way, he now has to learn his trade. It’s going to be hard, as well. Look at Dwain Chambers, who set the World Junior Record of 10.06 seconds at the 1997 European Junior Championships. He’s improved by nine hundredths of a second since then. "There’s only a blink of an eyelid between Mark and Maurice. But there’s a huge amount of work to be done and someone with his potential should be encouraged to make haste slowly, as has obviously been the case already. "It’s good that the European Junior Championships and seniors’ World Championships don’t clash next year. It might give him the opportunity to cut his teeth among the seniors in Edmonton - though there’s a lot of seniors who will have something to say about that! "While Mark will want to express himself on the world stage, we are getting good depth now. There’s a continuous stream of quality through from the Under 20s to the Under 23s to the Seniors." Recent research points to an all-round improvement. A study of UK Under 23 track and field rankings lists shows that performances have improved by an average of 2.6 per cent in the last four years. And women have made the greatest strides. Averaging the top 10 UK performers in each event each year, men have improved by 1.25 per cent - while women have improved by just over 4 per cent. "That amounts to a colossal move forward," says Jones. "A similar study of the senior rankings shows that the level of performance has remained just about static over the same period. "So the fact that the Under 23s are improving so noticeably is tremendously encouraging, especially so far as the women are concerned. I think it shows what a positive result Lottery funding is having. "It has enabled us to support the Under 23 age group, like the Under 20s, by arranging international matches. And we’ve liaised with the AAA of England to establish the Norwich Union National Championships for the age group. "Before the introduction of the Under 23 group, athletes emerging from the Under 20s were presented with a very tall mountain to climb to get to the Senior peaks. Now we are giving them a few base camps to aim for on the way. "And from next year there will be even more help in that age group with the start of England’s World Class Potential Plan. There have been similar schemes in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales for the last couple of years or so; and there is no question they have helped to keep talented athletes in the sport. "Nobody knows how many we lost in past years when they went to university and found other interests or simply couldn’t find an incentive to keep training. "And how many late developers have we missed? Remember, Linford Christie and Jonathan Edwards came through late. We have got to keep athletes like them in the sport."UK Athletics for the IAAF

Francis (Birchfield Harriers) is "just the blink of an eyelid" away from greatness, says UK Athletics Performance Director Max Jones

Lewis-Francis a blink of an eye from the top

Mark Lewis-Francis was the overwhelming favourite for the world junior men's 100 title and he lived up to all the expectations placed on him both back at home in Britain, and by everyone around the world who has seen the phenomenal 18-year old in action. He shot out of his blocks on a cool spring evening in Santiago and after 20 metres, after briefly being held by the Saudi Arabian Salem Al-Yami, who was to eventually get the silver medal, there was little doubt who was going to be the victor. The teenager from the English Midlands stopped the clock at 10.12, equalling the championship record set by his compatriot Christian Malcolm two years ago in Annecy. Al-Yami finished a distant second in 10.38, for his country's first ever medal at the world juniors. But all eyes were on Lewis-Francis, who follows in the spikeprints of the likes of Andre Cason, Ato Boldon and Francis Obikwelu as the winner of the blue riband event. His delight, despite no one ever seriously contemplated another winner after seeing him run 10.13 in Tuesday's quarter-final, was evident as he lay prostate on the track just soaking in the elation after what he had achieved. "I'm overwhelmed, this is what I've wanted all year. I went into winter training last year wanting to be a world junior champion because coming second at the European juniors left me so disappointed," Lewis-Francis said. "Coming out here, winning the world title and showing everyone what I am capable of means a lot to me." Despite being the world's fastest junior this year, with a time of 10.10 run in August at the British Grand Prix was there anyone that could have taken the title away from him? "The French guy that beat me last year at the European juniors worried me a bit and the guy from Saudi Arabia looked good but, apart from my team mate Tyrone, that's it really. I thought the Americans were going to be something special but they could not do it on the day," Lewis-Francis responded. Lewis-Francis passed over the chance to go Sydney last month, after qualifying by finishing third at the British Olympic trials, but he feels whole-heartedly that the sacrifice was worthwhile. "I don't regret not going to the Olympics. I know I would have been too young. The experience here is like a big stepping stone. Hopefully next year for the world championships in Canada I'll make the 4x100 relay team but I'm focusing again on the European junior championships." If there was any slight sense of regret it was that he did not improve on the three-year old world junior record of 10.06, held by another Briton Dwain Chambers. The slightly chillier conditions on Wednesday precluded any superlatives, despite Santiago's helpful altitude of 400 metres. "I was feeling good. I know I could have run a lot faster today but it's all about winning a race and getting the gold medal, it's not about times. Hopefully in Grosseto (venue for the 2001 European juniors championships) next year it'll go, that's a fast track." "As soon as I get back to Britain I'm going to have a rest. And then I'll get back into winter training. There's going to be some hard training in the coming months." For Lewis-Francis that means maybe increasing his training load to three days a week. Woe betide every other sprinter when he decides that his body is mature enough to handle working out every day.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Francis was the overwhelming favourite for the world junior men's 100 title and he lived up to all the expectations placed on him both back at home in Britain, and by everyone around the world who has seen the phenomenal 18-year old in action

Santiago stars seek AAA Under 20 Indoor Titles

Lewis-Francis teams up with McDonald

Lewis-Francis a blink of an eye from the top

Lewis-Francis fulfils the predictions