Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's only Olympic medalist until Christine Mboma's silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He also won gold medals at the World Championships, World Indoor Championships, All-Africa Games and Commonwealth Games. He is the world indoor record-holder for 200 metres, with a time of 19.92 seconds set in 1996.
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Fredericks has broken 20 seconds for the 200 metres 24 times. He also holds the joint-third-fastest non-winning time for the 200 metres. In August 1996, Fredericks ran 19.68 seconds in the Olympic final in Atlanta, Georgia.
He is also the oldest man to have broken 20 seconds for the 200 metres. On 12 July 2002 in Rome, Fredericks won the 200 metres in a time of 19.99 seconds at the age of 34 years 283 days. He is currently serving as a council member in the IAAF.
On 3 March 2017, Fredericks was implicated in the IAAF corruption scandal, stemming from a large cash payment he received in 2009. The investigation is still to be concluded.
Education and early life
editFredericks was born in Windhoek, the only child of Riekie Fredericks, a seamstress, and Andries Kangootui, a farmer. He grew up in the city's Katutura township, his parents splitting up while he was little. In 1981 he switched to the Catholic school at Döbra to play competitive soccer. When he received a scholarship to complete his matric at Concordia College Fredericks took up athletics because the soccer was not strong at Concordia. He still played for Black Africa, one of the country's top teams.[1]
After school, he took up work at Rössing Uranium Ltd. in Swakopmund and soon got a partial scholarship at Brigham Young University in the US in 1987.[2] There he studied computer science and graduated with an MBA.[3]
During his college career, Fredericks earned numerous All-American citations and won three NCAA championships.[4]
Athletics career
editIn 1990, after his country had become independent of South Africa, Fredericks could participate in international competition. At the World Championships in 1991, Fredericks won a silver medal in the 200 m, finishing behind Michael Johnson, and placed 5th in the 100 m. He then went on to The following year, at the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics, Fredericks became Namibia's first Olympic medalist when he finished second in both the 100 m and 200 m. He won the silver medal in the men's 100-metre dash, with a time of 10.02 seconds, just .06 seconds behind the gold medal winner. In 1993, in Stuttgart, he became the nation's first World Champion, winning the 200 m. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, he won gold in the 200 m and bronze in the 100 m. His time of 19.97 seconds in the 200 metres is the current Commonwealth Games record. At the 1995 World Championships 100 m, after crossing the line he immediately went to help his friend Linford Christie who pulled a muscle in the race and signalled for help. This act of kindness endeared him to many (particularly British) athletics fans.
For the 1996 Summer Olympics, Fredericks was among the title favourites for both the 100 m and 200 m. He reached both finals and again finished second in both. In the 100 m, he was beaten by Donovan Bailey, who set a new World Record, and in the 200 m, he was beaten by Michael Johnson, who also set a new World Record. At the time, Fredericks's second-place run was the third-fastest in history, beaten only by Johnson (twice). At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Frankie once again missed out on the chance of gold in the 100 m; he was beaten by Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago.
Suffering from injuries, Fredericks had to withdraw from the 1999 and 2001 World Championships, and the 2000 Summer Olympics. When he arrived in Abuja to represent Namibia at the 2003 All-Africa Games, he was lauded by Nigerian supporters and came away with a silver medal.[5][6] He then went on to win the 200 m at the inaugural Afro-Asian Games in 2003. In the 200 m final at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he finished 4th.
After the end of the 2004 outdoor season, Fredericks retired from competition. He had run the 100 m under 10 seconds 27 times and remained the tenth-best in history until recently.[7]
As of August 2024, he holds six track records for 200 metres including Dakar (19.99, 1998), Duisburg, Germany (19.96, 1996), Fukuoka (19.81, 1997), Johannesburg (19.93, 1995), Melbourne (19.92, 1999) and Victoria (19.97, 1994).
Outdoor records
edit| Distance | Time (seconds) | Wind | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres | 9.86 | – 0.4 m/s | Lausanne | 3 July 1996 |
| 200 metres | 19.68 | + 0.4 m/s | Atlanta | 1 August 1996 |
| 400 metres | 46.28 | Tempe | 25 March 1989 |
Indoor records
edit| Event | Best | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 metres | 5.77 s | Liévin | 24 February 2002 |
| 60 metres | 6.51 s | Toronto | 12 March 1993 |
| 100 metres | 10.05 s | Tampere | 12 February 1996 |
200 metres 
|
19.92 s | Liévin | 18 February 1996 |
| 300 metres | 32.36 s | Karlsruhe | 28 February 2003 |
| Long jump | 7.57 m | Colorado Springs | 22 February 1991 |
Track records
editFredericks holds the following track records for 100 metres and 200 metres.
100 metres
edit| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s |
Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Town | 10.08 | + 1.6 | 20/03/1998 | |
| Cottbus | 10.00 | + 2.7 | 15/06/1994 | |
| Helsinki | 9.87 | + 1.9 | 25/06/1996 | |
| Nice, France | 10.00 | + 0.7 | 16/07/1998 | |
| Radès, Tunisia | 9.93 | + 3.8 | 07/08/2002 | |
| Rehlingen, Germany | 10.07 | + 1.4 | 05/06/1995 | Track record shared with Usheoritse Itsekiri (NGR) from 09/06/2019. |
| Villeneuve d'Ascq, France | 9.91 | + 5.1 | 06/07/1992 | |
| Windhoek, Namibia | 9.94 | – 0.2 | 13/04/2002 |
200 metres
edit| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s |
Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | 20.09 | + 3.2 | 20/05/1989 |
| Dakar | 19.99 | – 0.9 | 22/08/1998 |
| Duisburg, Germany | 19.96 | + 2.0 | 12/06/1996 |
| Fukuoka | 19.81 | + 0.3 | 13/09/1997 |
| Johannesburg | 19.93 | 0.0 | 24/09/1995 |
| Melbourne | 19.92 | + 1.6 | 25/02/1999 |
| Radès, Tunisia | 20.10 | + 2.4 | 10/08/2002 |
| Victoria, British Columbia | 19.97 | + 1.5 | 26/08/1994 |
| Villeneuve d'Ascq, France | 19.99 | + 2.7 | 06/07/1992 |
IOC career
editIn 2004 Fredericks became a member of the International Olympic Committee. In 2009 Fredericks became the head of the Athletics Namibia in a controversial leadership contest.[8] In 2012 Fredericks was nominated to be a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Frank Fredericks is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organisation.
Bribery investigation
editOn 3 March 2017, French newspaper Le Monde reported[9] that Fredericks had received US$299,300 from Pamodzi Sports Consulting, a company owned by Papa Massata Diack (the son of disgraced former IAAF head Lamine Diack, who is currently facing corruption charges in France). The payment went to Yemi Limited, a company set up by Fredericks in Seychelles, a tax haven, and was made on 2 Oct. 2009, the same day as Rio was announced as the winning bid for the 2016 Olympics. Fredericks has denied that the payment has anything to do with the Olympic bid, but instead says it was fees paid for consulting services he provided for "relay championships" and marketing programs related to African championships and other IAAF programs.
When the allegation was made Fredericks was the chair of the 2024 Olympic bid evaluation committee.[10] On 6 March 2017, Fredericks stepped down from his position in the IAAF task force that is evaluating if or when to re-admit Russia's national sports body RusAF after a widespread doping scandal.[11] On 7 March 2017, the Ethics Commission of the IOC recommended a provisional suspension of Fredericks from his IOC-related duties.[12] Before the IOC Executive meeting Fredericks while maintaining his innocence withdrew from his position as the Chair of the 2024 Olympic bidding process "in the best interests" of the process.[13] Fredericks was replaced as the chair of the 2024 Olympic bidding process by former FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann.
Business career
editAfter his athletic career, Fredericks worked as a business manager. He also founded the Frank Fredericks Foundation in 1999, a non-profit organisation supporting talented athletes.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Mackay, Duncan (21 July 2002). "A gentleman and a scholar". The Observer.
- ^ a b Angula, Conrad (6 November 2020). "Where are they now? Ex-sprinter Fredericks elevates from Olympiad to business executive". The Namibian. pp. 30, 32.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "About Us - Frank Fredericks Foundation". Frank Fredericks Foundation. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ "BYU Cougars: Frank Fredericks Athlete Profile". Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ^ "Two more Games records in Abuja – African Games – Day THREE". worldathletics.org. 14 October 2003. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ Krastev, Todor (23 February 2011). "Athletics All Africa Games Abuja (NGR) 2003". Todor66. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ Tonchi, Victor L., William A. Lindeke, and John J. Grotpeter, "Fredericks, Frankie (1967- )" Historical Dictionary of Namibia. 2nd edition. Toronto: The Scarecrow Press, Inc, p. 129.
- ^ Tonchi, Victor L., William A. Lindeke, and John J. Grotpeter, "Frederics, Frankie (1967- )" Historical Dictionary of Namibia. 2nd edition. Toronto: The Scarecrow Press, Inc, p. 129.
- ^ Bouchez, Yann (3 March 2017). "Le jour où Rio obtenait les JO, Frank Fredericks empochait 299 300 dollars". Le Monde (in French). ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Evaluation Commission". International Olympic Committee. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Fredericks resigns from IAAF task force". The Japan Times. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ DECISION OF RECOMMENDATION TO THE IOC EXECUTIVE BOARD Decision N° 2017/1 vom 7. März 2017
- ^ Graham Dunbar (7 March 2017). "Fredericks leaves 2024 Olympic bid role, waives vote". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
External links
edit- Frank Fredericks at World Athletics
- Frank Fredericks at the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
- Website of the Frank Fredericks Foundation
- Fredericks says goodbye – a career tribute – IAAF website, 13 October 2004
