Francis ‘expects great things’ in Doha

Samuel Francis will be carrying the hope of his nation on his young shoulders when he steps onto the track at the Aspire Dome tommorrow, but he's remarkably relaxed ahead of his bid to become the first ever Qatari world indoor champion on Saturday.

The 22-year-old sprinter goes for gold over 60m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and as a Doha resident he knows only too well the great expectations of the Qatari public, a pressure he seems to be taking in his considerable stride.

"There is definitely more tension and excitement because these championships are here in Doha," he says.

"But I am well prepared. I don't think there is any more I can do right now and I am ready for the competition."

"I have been training really hard and I am expecting great things. I want to break Qatar's jinx. It would mean a great deal to me, and to them too."

Born in Nigeria to Nigerian parents, Francis has been competing for Qatar for more than three years and counts Doha as his home, and the Aspire Zone as his training base for at least three months a year.

He is the Asian record holder, with a best of 6.54, and won the Asian indoor championships only two weeks ago. He knows he'll have to run quicker than he ever has before to win gold here but he is confident his best is yet to come."

" I think it will need less than 6.50 to win the gold medal,"he says. "But anything can happen in a 60m. Everybody will be tense, especially with the one false start rule."

"To predict my time right now would be limiting myself. There are no limits to what I am reaching for, so if I tell you 6.50 that is not doing justice to myself."

Francis has improved in each of his three races so far in 2010, from 6.66 when he won in Linz on 4 February, to 6.62 in Leipzig where he was fourth, to 6.58 at the Asian championships.

"It's been getting better with each race,"he says. "In Leipzig I was conscious of the false start rule and was cautious in the blocks. But now I am ready. In Tehran I felt the blocks before anybody else, so I think I am pretty much prepared."

It's no surprise that Francis names Britain's Dwain Chambers and the US duo, Ivory Williams and Michael Rodgers, as the men to beat. Chambers became the third quickest man in history en route to winning the European indoor title last year, and Williams is the only athlete to have dipped below 6.50 so far in the current campaign.

Yet, while all eyes may be on these front runners, Francis believes his relaxed approach could pay dividends.

"In the past I have tried too hard at championships and gone over everything I am supposed to do in my mind, "he says. "But I will not get excited and panicked here. My aim is just to relax, come here and have fun."

Francis spends much of the year training abroad-in Malaysia, Bulgaria, Germany and the United States- but for the last three months he has been in Doha preparing hard for these championships on home soil. Aside from his own prospects, he has high hopes the World Indoors will help raise the profile of athletics in Qatar.

"Sometimes I get frustrated that football is on the TV all the time, and athletics comes in just once in a while and then goes again.

I think theWorld Championships here can really help a lot of people know more about athletics. There is an opening for it in Asia right now."

Nothing would give the sport a bigger boost than a gold medal for Qatar, of course, and Francis believes he's the man.

"I am a child of God and I know he can do great things through me,"he says. "I want to show the Qataris that God can do something through me. I want to surprise the world."