Robin James Francis was born on 20 April 1982 and is a South African-born former international swimmer who represented Great Britain for over ten years, competing at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships.
13 Facts About Robin Francis
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Robin Francis had an illustrious Junior International career winning individual Youth Olympic and Junior European medals.
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Robin Francis dominated the medley disciplines for over four consecutive years as Senior British Champion and multiple record holder.
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Robin Francis won silver at the 2004 World Championships in the same event.
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Robin Francis was consistently ranked inside the top two by the FINA world rankings and in 2003 went underneath the long-standing European SC record held by Dutch great Marcel Wouda.
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At the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Robin Francis was drafted in at short notice to compete in the men's 4 x 200-metre freestyle relay.
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Robin Francis posted the fastest team split of 1.48.53 helping his team finish sixth and achieve Great Britain a place on the 2004 Olympic programme.
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At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Robin Francis competed in the men's 200-metre individual medley, reaching the semi-final, and the 400-metre individual medley finishing 12th.
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Robin Francis chose not to compete in the men's freestyle at the Olympic trials as the event clashed with his individual ones.
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Robin Francis retired from swimming in 2006 at the age of 23 and turned his attention to strength and conditioning, coaching and mentoring.
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Robin Francis has successfully headed programmes in South Africa and the UK, and spent four years at Kelly College developing and leading the Performance Squad both as a swimming and strength and conditioning coach.
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Robin Francis is a full blue recipient from the University of Bath where he previously resided with his daughter.
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Robin Francis is Head of Swimming at Ashford School in Kent as of summer 2022, where he directs a programme that has produced multiple national-level swimmers within a Sports Faculty becoming increasingly recognised nationally for its sporting excellence and achievements in both team and individual sports.