Alleyne Francique is a 400m veteran in the world of sprinting circuit. He hails from Grenada, a small island in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. I vividly recalled his 2004 Olympics 400m Men’s Finals running the outer most lane, running a credible final finishing outside a 1-2-3 American dominance with a fourth place. His best Olympic finish to date

Well the story today is that Alleyne Francique has just retired from running. Of course, there’s plenty of that occurance daily, athletes retirement is pretty common, but not when you write a classy “Thank You Note” after retiring, thanking people for your progress right from the start. That’s cool of him and I think this should be common practice. In soccer they have testimonial matches, why not athletics

Men 400m Finals (2004 Athens)

His best achievement to date for a medal was gold from IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2004 and 2006 and a silver at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Well here’s an excerpt of his ‘Thank You Note’. There’s a little something in the message by Alleyne we all can learn and take note of

via source

Those who know me can testify that I am passionate about sports. Throughout my athletic career, it was never about winning at all costs; rather, it was about fulfilling my potential. Whenever I found myself on the starting blocks, I was never thinking about getting one over my opponents. I was always focused on bettering myself as an athlete and most importantly, as a human being. That was the essence of why I competed.

As a professional athlete, I have always been aware that the time would come for me to begin another chapter of my life. That time has come and I look forward to exciting new challenges that lie ahead.

I would like to take this opportunity to inform the Grenada Athletic Association and the Grenada Olympic Committee of my decision to retire from all athletic competitions and to say thank you for their support.

I also would like to say a special thank you to various persons who have supported me unwaveringly throughout my athletic career.

First of all, thank you to all the teachers and coaches who dedicated themselves to the channeling and improvement of my talent and especially to the staff of Tivoli R.C. School, St Andrews Anglican Secondary School, T.A. Marryshow Community College, Essex County College and Louisiana State University who have coached me through several Intercol Championships, two National records, 7 NCAA All American Titles, Commonwealth and Pan American medals and 2 World Indoor Championship Gold Medals.

Much love and respect to my supporters for their constant support during my struggle to uplift, educate, enlighten and entertain. To my managers, I wish them God’s richest blessings. Thanks also to all my training partners for their assistance and inspiration, may their dreams and aspirations become reality. Thanks to all my friends and family for being there physically, emotionally and for the way they helped me to find the truth about myself. Special and heartfelt thanks to Akima, my moms Ann Francique and Kathlyn Olive, my dad Aden Alexander, the rest of the Francique family, Coach Henry, Ms. Henry, Coach Smart, Conrad, Ricky and Marion, and my trusted friends on the “block” in Conference.

I have represented Grenada for the last thirteen years of my career and it is now time to hand over the baton to our next generation of athletes. May you make your country proud.

Thanks as Always,
Alleyne J. Francique, OBE

Profile

Weight: 70kg
DOB: 07/06/1976

Personal Best – Outdoor

• 200 Metres 20.83 Grenada 21/06/2003
• 300 Metres 33.08 Eugene, OR 27/05/2007
• 400 Metres 44.47 Osaka 08/05/2004

Personal Best – Indoor

• 400 Metres 45.35 Fayetteville, AR 24/02/2002
• 500 Metres 1:02.29 University Park, PA 12/02/2000
• 600 Metres 1:18.12 Charleston, IL 13/03/1999

Honours

• The XXIX Olympic Games 6 h 46.15 Beijing (National Stadium) 18/08/2008
• 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships 5 h 48.64 Valencia, ESP 07/03/2008
• 5th IAAF World Athletics Final 7 f 46.27 Stuttgart 22/09/2007
• 11th IAAF World Championships 6 sf 45.41 Osaka 29/08/2007
• 10th IAAF World Cup 4 f 45.30 Athína (Olympic Stadium) 16/09/2006
• 4th IAAF World Athletics Final 6 f 45.28 Stuttgart 09/09/2006
• 18th Commonwealth Games 2 f 45.09 Melbourne 22/03/2006
• 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships 1 f 45.54 Moskva (Olimpiyskiy Stadion) 12/03/2006
• 3rd IAAF World Athletics Final 7 f 45.78 Monaco 09/09/2005
• 10th IAAF World Championships 5 sf 46.59 Helsinki 10/08/2005
• 2nd IAAF World Athletics Final 5 f 45.27 Monaco 18/09/2004
• 28th Olympic Games 4 f 44.66 Athína (Olympic Stadium) 23/08/2004
• 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships 1 f 45.88 Budapest (SA) 06/03/2004
• 1st IAAF World Athletics Final 3 f 45.25 Monaco 13/09/2003
• 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics 7 f 45.48 Paris Saint-Denis 26/08/2003
• 17th Commonwealth Games 1 sf 45.06 Manchester 27/07/2002
• 8th IAAF World Championships 6 f 46.23 Edmonton 06/08/2001
• 7th IAAF World Championships 7 h 47.49 Sevilla 22/08/1999