Francis is competing in the 100m for single-arm athletes which is proving to be a grudge match of sorts with Papua New Guinea's Francis Kompaon also entering the event.

Francis beat out Kompaon in the 100m at the Beijing Paralympics Games by .05 of a second.

"There are a lot of competitors it is a very strong field," Francis said of the upcoming event.

Originally from Raymond Terrace Athletics club, Francis will race on October 7 and hopes that his supporters in Port Stephens will get behind his efforts.

Preparations have hit a slight speed bump after contracting glandular fever but after receiving the go-ahead from doctors training is back on track.

"It is just effecting my preparation but before I got it I had done about 95 per cent of the hard work so now we are just polishing off," he said.

Before the illness Francis recorded times of under 11 seconds for the sprint and he has set his goal to mirror these times at the games.

"If I can get under 11 seconds I should be a chance for a medal because no one has run under that time at internationals since 1992," he said.

Francis will soon head to a training camp in Queensland before competing in a few lead up competitions.

As to a rumoured retirement from the sport Francis said he was taking decisions one day at a time and will possibly make an appearance at the Athletics World Championships in New Zealand next year.