Frankie Fredericks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Frank Fredericks

Fredericks in 2007
Personal information
Nationality	Namibian
Born	(1967-10-02) 2 October 1967 (age 57) Windhoek, South West Africa
Height	180 cm
Weight	73 kg (161 lb; 11.5 st)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres
College team	BYU Cougars
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Namibia Olympic Games Silver 1992 Barcelona 100 m Silver 1992 Barcelona 200 m Silver 1996 Atlanta 100 m Silver 1996 Atlanta 200 m World Championships Gold 1993 Stuttgart 200 m Silver 1991 Tokyo 200 m Silver 1995 Gothenburg 200 m Silver 1997 Athens 200 m World Indoor Championships Gold 1999 Maebashi 200 m Silver 1993 Toronto 60 m All-Africa Games Gold 1991 Cairo 100 m Gold 1991 Cairo 200 m Silver 2003 Abuja 200 m Bronze 1999 Johannesburg 100 m Commonwealth Games Gold 1994 Victoria 200 m Gold 2002 Manchester 200 m Silver 1998 Kuala Lumpur 100 m Bronze 1994 Victoria 100 m Goodwill Games Bronze 1994 Saint Petersburg 200 m African Championships in Athletics Gold 1998 Dakar 200 m Gold 2002 Tunis 100 m Gold 2002 Tunis 200 m Silver 1998 Dakar 100 m Representing Africa World Cup Gold 1998 Johannesburg 200 m Silver 1994 London 200 m Silver 2002 Madrid 200 m Bronze 1998 Johannesburg 4 × 100 m relay Bronze 2002 Madrid 4 × 100 m relay

Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a famous former track and field athlete from Namibia. He was a top runner in the 100 metres and 200 metres races. Frank Fredericks won four silver medals at the Olympic Games. He earned two medals in 1992 and two more in 1996.

He was Namibia's only Olympic medalist for a long time. This changed when Christine Mboma won a silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Frank Fredericks also won gold medals at many other big events. These include the World Championships and Commonwealth Games. He holds the world indoor record for the 200 metres. He set this record in 1996 with a time of 19.92 seconds.

Fredericks ran the 200 metres in under 20 seconds 24 times. He also holds one of the fastest times ever for the 200 metres, even when he didn't win. In August 1996, he ran 19.68 seconds in the Olympic final in Atlanta. He is also the oldest man to run the 200 metres in under 20 seconds. This happened on 12 July 2002 in Rome, when he was 34 years old.

Frank Fredericks' Early Life and School

Frank Fredericks was born in Windhoek, Namibia. He was the only child of Riekie Fredericks and Andries Kangootui. He grew up in a part of the city called Katutura. His parents separated when he was young.

In 1981, he started attending a Catholic school in Döbra. He went there to play competitive soccer. Later, he received a scholarship to finish high school at Concordia College. At Concordia, he started doing athletics because soccer was not as strong there. However, he still played soccer for Black Africa, a top team in his country.

After school, he worked at a company called Rössing Uranium Ltd. He soon received a scholarship to study at Brigham Young University in the United States in 1987. There, he studied computer science and later earned a master's degree in business. During his time in college, Fredericks won three national championships.

Frank Fredericks' Amazing Athletics Career

In 1990, Namibia became independent from South Africa. This meant Frank Fredericks could finally compete in international sports events. At the World Championships in 1991, he won a silver medal in the 200 metres. He finished just behind Michael Johnson. He also placed 5th in the 100 metres race.

The next year, at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, Fredericks made history. He became Namibia's first Olympic medalist. He won silver medals in both the 100 metres and 200 metres. In the 100-metre dash, his time was 10.02 seconds.

In 1993, in Stuttgart, he became Namibia's first World Champion. He won the 200 metres race. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, he won gold in the 200 metres and bronze in the 100 metres. His 200-metre time of 19.97 seconds is still the Commonwealth Games record. At the 1995 World Championships, he showed great sportsmanship. After finishing the 100 metres, he immediately helped his friend Linford Christie, who had pulled a muscle.

Olympic Success and Challenges

For the 1996 Summer Olympics, many people thought Fredericks would win gold in both the 100 metres and 200 metres. He reached both finals but again won two silver medals. In the 100 metres, Donovan Bailey won and set a new World Record. In the 200 metres, Michael Johnson won and also set a new World Record. At that time, Fredericks's second-place run was the third-fastest ever.

At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, he again missed out on gold in the 100 metres. Ato Boldon from Trinidad and Tobago beat him. Due to injuries, Fredericks could not compete in the 1999 and 2001 World Championships. He also missed the 2000 Summer Olympics.

When he arrived in Abuja for the 2003 All-Africa Games, fans cheered for him. He won a silver medal there. He then won the 200 metres at the first 2003 Afro-Asian Games in 2003. In the 200 metres final at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he finished 4th. After the 2004 outdoor season, Frank Fredericks stopped competing. He had run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds 27 times in his career.

Frank Fredericks' Best Times

Here are some of Frank Fredericks' fastest times in different races:

Category	Distance	Performance	Wind	Location	Date
Outdoor	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	50 metres	5.77		Liévin	24 February 2002
	60 metres	6.51		Toronto	12 March 1993
	100 metres	10.05		Tampere	12 February 1996
	200 metres	19.92		Liévin	18 February 1996
	300 metres	32.36		Karlsruhe	28 February 2003
	Long jump	7.57 m		Colorado Springs	22 February 1991

Frank Fredericks' Role in Sports Organizations

In 2004, Frank Fredericks became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This is a group that organizes the Olympic Games. In 2009, he became the head of Athletics Namibia. In 2012, he was again nominated to be an IOC member.

Frank Fredericks is also part of the 'Champions for Peace' club. This group includes 54 famous athletes who use sports to help bring peace to the world. This club was started by Peace and Sport, an international organization based in Monaco.

Investigation and Stepping Down from Roles

In March 2017, a French newspaper reported that Frank Fredericks had received a large payment in 2009. This payment came from a company owned by the son of a former head of the IAAF (the world athletics body). The payment was made on the same day that Rio was chosen to host the 2016 Olympics.

Fredericks stated that the payment was for consulting work he did for athletics programs in Africa. He denied it was related to the Olympic bid. When these reports came out, Fredericks was leading the committee that was looking at bids for the 2024 Olympics.

On March 6, 2017, Fredericks stepped down from his role in an IAAF group. This group was deciding if Russia's athletics body could return after a doping scandal. The next day, the IOC's Ethics Commission suggested he be temporarily suspended from his IOC duties. Fredericks, while saying he was innocent, decided to step down from leading the 2024 Olympic bidding process. He did this "in the best interests" of the process. Patrick Baumann took over his role.

Frank Fredericks' Business Work

After his career as an athlete, Frank Fredericks became a business manager. He also started the Frank Fredericks Foundation in 1999. This is a non-profit organization that helps talented young athletes.

See also

In Spanish: Frankie Fredericks para niños

• List of champions of African athletics
• IAAF doping controversy