Achilles
sidelines Frank Fredericks
Sean Wallace-Jones in Sydney for IAAF
17 September 2000 – Sydney - The man who could have been the ace in the hole for 200m gold in the absence of Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene, Namibia’s Frank Fredericks, is to miss the Sydney Olympics.
Fredericks has been suffering from an Achilles problem throughout this season and only made his debut on the track in the IAAF Grand Prix II meeting in Rieti at the beginning of September, where he finished fourth in a time of 20.79.
Speaking in a press conference this afternoon, the man who has the reputation of being an eternal silver medallist – he clocked up silver at 100 metres and 200 metres in the last two Olympics – had tears in his eyes as he said that the decision to withdraw was the hardest that he had ever had to make in his lengthy career as an athlete.
"This is the first time that I have had an Achilles problem," he said. "I have had hamstring pulls and that is pretty bad, but this is really the worst thing yet.
"The problem is not so much when I am running: I felt a little pain in Rieti, but not too much. The problem comes when I am jogging and walking, warming up. I can’t warm up properly."
Although Fredericks has been convalescing and doing light training throughout the summer, the problem has refused to go away and he says that he is not prepared to risk more serious injury for the sake of running a mediocre time in Sydney.
"I don’t need to run in the Olympics to prove anything or to come in in twenty something," he said. "I have done the Olympics and have four silver medals; if I compete it is for gold."
There was speculation that this could mean the end of his competitive career for Fredericks, who will be 33-years old the day after the close of the Sydney Olympic Games, but he dismissed this suggestion: "I will be concentrating on getting fit again and aiming to be at the top in August next year (for the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton)."
In the meantime, Fredericks, who has a degree in mining technology from Brigham Young University, is spending much of his time working on the foundation that bears his name.
"We have a huge pool of talent in Namibia, despite the fact that the population is only 1.2 million people.
"I set up the Frank Fredericks Foundation fourteen months ago to help our youngsters learn about sport – not just about athletics, though that is the main focus. We will help teach them football and rugby too.
"The country needs coaches and more facilities. There are some coaches, but they are generally unpaid and we have to teach the kids about the possibilities that sport and the iAAF offers them of a career where they can also earn a living.
"When I was at college, I could only compete against the people in the college. After independence I wanted to show that I could compete internationally, show what I could do and tell the world that there was a new, free country called Namibia."
So Fredericks is not limping away, just preparing to come back and once again bear his country’s flag, in less than a year’s time on the track in Edmonton.