AKAN Track Club’s Javon Francis, who was just a whisker away from breaking the national 400m record of 44.40 seconds, said he is more focused on making Jamaica’s team to the IAAF World Championships in August.

Francis, affectionately called ‘Donkey Man’, sizzled to a personal best of 44.50 seconds at the JAAA’s All Comers Meet at the National Stadium on Saturday. He was just .10 of second outside Jermaine Gonzalez’s Jamaican record of 44.40 set in 2010.

“The record was never on my mind. If it comes it comes. Records come and records go. That’s not my main focus now. My main focus is to get to the World Championships,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Having seen his Boys’ Champs record of 45.00 erased in March, Francis ran his personal best of 44.90 while finishing third at the Jamaica International Invitational on May 9. A month later, he has shaved off four-tenths of a second to become the third- fastest Jamaican over 400m.

Only record holder Gonzales and former record holder Roxbert Martin’s 44.49 seconds done in 1997 has gone faster and he is just ahead of Ricardo Chambers’ 44.59.

Francis’s time is also the sixth fastest in the world this year, headed by Kirani James’ 43.95 and 44.22, South Africa’s Wayde Van Niekerk (44.24), Trinidad and Tobago’s pair of Machel Cedion (44.36), and Deon Lendore (44.41), plus American Vernon Norwood (44.44).

“I feel extremely happy. I just went out there and do what the coach said I was to do and execute my race properly,” noted Francis.

“I am really satisfied going into the (national) championships, and I will just have to go there and do my best. If I win, I win. But I just want to make the team, that’s all,” added the 20-year-old, who had to dig deep to catch Rusheen McDonald close to home.

Second-placed McDonald also achieved his personal best of 44.60 seconds to be the seventh-fastest Jamaican over the 400m.

Meanwhile, Calabar High’s 15-year-old 400m prodigy Christopher Taylor sped to another age-group world record of 45.55 seconds beating his previous best of 45.69 seconds set in March.

Racers’ 2011 World Championship 100m gold medallist Yohan Blake won his first 100m race of the year in 10.21 seconds with a 1.2 metres per second wind.

Blake, who made a long return from injury last week in winning the 200m in 21.57 seconds, is nervously recovering from hamstring injuries suffered over the last two years.

While Blake might be fearful of a recurring injury, the rising star of women sprinting, Elaine Thompson, basically jogged 23.04 seconds to easily win the 200m into a negative headwind of -3.2 mps. Audrey Segree of Sprintec won her heat in 24.07 seconds and was second overall.

Natasha Morrison of MVP sped to a decent 11.20 seconds to win the 100m ahead of Channice Bonner of UTech with 11.53 seconds.

Kimone Shaw of St Jago won the girls’ section in 11.52, with Kashieka Cameron of Edwin Allen following with 12.03 seconds.

UTech’s Shericka Jackson took the 400m honours in 51.72 seconds, while her teammate Somoya Campbell won the 800m in 2:05.90 minutes.

Megan Simmonds of UTech impressively dismantled the women’s 100 hurdles field in 13.08 seconds, with Yanique Thompson of GC Foster second with 13.56 seconds.