Athlete
Allen Franklin was raised by his mother, Ora Overstreet, with help from his grandmother and aunt. His family includes five siblings and five cousins who all grew up together. He started focusing on track his 7th and 8th grade years at Lexington Jr. High School. Unfortunately, he was only a fill-in for the relay races. The summer of his 8th grade year, Allen was inspired to run in the Hershey’s annual summer track meet by his friend Derek Robinson. He ran the 220-yard dash for the first time beating even the fastest runners on his team. By his 9th grade year, Allen was the fastest sprinter on Lexington Jr.’s team. That year, the speedster broke countless Fayette County records in the 100- and 220-yard dashes, making him the first athlete in the state to run under 10 seconds in the 100-yard dash (9.96 secs.) while still in junior high school.
During his 10th grade year at Henry Clay, Allen set multiple school records in the sprints. He was fortunate to be a part of a great relay team which included team members Chris Chenault (LAASHOF Class of 2023), Phillip Chenault, and Ronnie Chestnut. His personal bests were 10.45 secs. in the 100-meter dash and 21.5 secs. in the 200-meter dash. These blistering times garnered national attention for Allen. At the end of track season, he was invited to run in several elite Nike track meets across the country.
His 11th grade year with the Blue Devils brought more of the same recognition for Allen. He went undefeated and continued blowing by his competition in his many sprinting events. This same year, Allen competed for Team USA in the summer of 1983. He was invited to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, competing against teams such as Japan, Italy and Canada. Running the second leg, Allen helped position his 4×100-meter relay team to set the Junior world record at 39.00 secs. In addition to his outstanding performance on the relay team, Allen also competed in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
During his senior season in 1984, Allen added indoor track to his repertoire and won the 60-yard dash in 6.20 seconds at the Southeastern Meet of Champions in Knoxville, TN. Had the speedster been in college, he would have qualified for the 60-yard dash in the NCAA collegiate track meet. Unfortunately, Allen couldn’t run in any outdoor events his senior year due to an injury. At the end of his senior year, Allen was heavily recruited nationally for track and football. Throughout his track career, Allen amassed multiple KHSAA state championships, and he had the honor of meeting Olympians Calvin Smith and Carl Lewis during his recruiting process.
After high school, Allen went on to attend the University of Tennessee, which was one of the premiere track programs in the country. He was a letterman and competed in several NCAA track meets. His PRs were 10.2 (100-meters), 20.65 (200-meters), and 45.00 secs. (400m). He gives special thanks to the late Bev. Adams and all the other coaches during his highly successful track career.
Allen is currently married to Erlinda Franklin, and they have four children. Their son Darius R. Franklin passed away from brain cancer in 2018. The couple also has 12 grandchildren.
