Frankie Fredericks
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"Frank Fredericks" redirects here. For the founder of World Faith, see Frank Fredericks (musician).
Fredericks at the 2014 IAAF Council Meeting
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Personal information | |
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Nationality | Namibian |
Born | Windhoek, South West Africa | 2 October 1967
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Weight | 72 kg (159 lb; 11.3 st) |
Sport | |
Sport | Track and field |
Event(s) | 100 metres, 200 metres |
Fredericks has broken 20 seconds for the 200 metres 24 times. He also holds the 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.
Contents
[hide]Biography[edit]
Born in Windhoek, Frankie Fredericks was awarded a scholarship at Brigham Young University in the US in 1987. (Though he is not a Mormon, he enjoyed the religious classes at BYU.) During his college career, Fredericks earned numerous All-American citations and won three NCAA championships.[1] In 1990, after his country had become independent of South Africa, Fredericks could participate in international competition. At the World Championships that year, Fredericks won a silver medal in the 200 m, finishing behind Michael Johnson, and placed 5th in the 100 m.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-meter 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.
In 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.
In 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 run in history, beaten only by Johnson (twice).
In 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. In the 200 m final at the 2004 Summer Olympics he finished 4th.
Fredericks won the 200 m at the inaugural Afro-Asian Games in 2003.
After the end of 2004 outdoor season, Fredericks retired from competition. Also in 2004 he became a member of the International Olympic Committee.
In 2009 Fredericks became the head of the Athletics Namibia in a controversial leadership contest. [2]
He has run the 100 m under 10 seconds 27 times, remained the 10th best in history until recently. [3]
Commitment[edit]
Frankie Fredericks is today 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.He became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2012.
Outdoor[edit]
Distance | Time (seconds) | Wind | Location | Date |
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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 | ? | ? | 1 January 1989 |
Indoor[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 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Jump up ^ BYU Cougars: Frank Fredericks Athlete Profile
- Jump up ^ 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.
- Jump up ^ 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.
External links[edit]
- Frank Fredericks profile at IAAF
- 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
Records | ||
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Preceded by Olapade Adeniken | Men's 200m African Record Holder 3 August 1992 – present | Incumbent |
Preceded by Linford Christie | Men's 200m Indoor World Record Holder 18 February 1996 – present | Incumbent |
Achievements | ||
Preceded by Michael Marsh | Men's 200 m Best Year Performance 1993 | Succeeded by John Regis |
Olympic Games | ||
Preceded by None | Flagbearer for Namibia Barcelona 1992 | Succeeded by Friedhelm Sack |
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Categories:
- 1967 births
- Living people
- People from Windhoek
- Namibian sprinters
- Namibian sportsmen
- Male sprinters
- Olympic athletes of Namibia
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Olympic silver medalists for Namibia
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Namibia
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Namibia
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Namibia
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Namibia
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
- World Championships in Athletics athletes for Namibia
- World Championships in Athletics medalists
- International Olympic Committee members
- BYU Cougars track and field athletes
- Coloured Namibian people
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