Sprinter completes impressive junior hat-trick

Mark Lewis Francis, who has already booked his place at next month's World Championships, last night completed his set of junior titles by winning the European Championships in Grosseto, Italy.

The 18-year-old from Darlaston took gold in 10.09sec, which would have been a personal best by 0.01sec had it not been for a following wind outside the legal limit. He had hoped to use an event where he had to be content with a silver medal two years ago to take the world junior record from his fellow Briton Dwain Chambers, who holds the mark at 10.06.

For now, Lewis Francis – who won the European Cup title last month on his senior outdoor international debut – can satisfy himself that he has achieved his main goal of the season.

"I want to be able to sit back at the end of the season and think, 'I've made the most of my time in the juniors'," he said before running in the European Cup.

He adds this win to the world junior title he secured in Santiago last October, and the IAAF world youth 100m title the year before that.

"It felt better than my win at the world juniors after coming second two years ago," Lewis Francis said yesterday. Now he will concentrate on winning a second gold with the relay team of Tyrone Edgar, Dwayne Grant and Tim Benjamin before proceeding to Edmonton knowing that he has nothing to lose.

The Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Holmes only finished sixth in the 800 metres at last night's Monaco Golden League meeting, but the injury-prone British No 1 will have been delighted in recording 1:59.41, just inside the World Championship qualifying time.

It was only her third competitive run of the season and, in a fast race won by Olympic champion Maria Mutola, of Mozambique, in a world best this year of 1:57.11, Holmes was still in contention on the second lap before fading round the final bend.