FORMER Olympic sprinter Frankie Fredericks has been suspended as a member of the International Olympic Committee.
The 50-year-old Namibian, who has been an IOC member since 2012, was charged with corruption and money-laundering last week by a French judge who is investigating allegations of vote-rigging in global sport.
The IOC’s initial response to the news from the Paris court was it would “look into” the matter, before restating its customary proviso that the presumption of innocence must prevail.
Four days later, however, the IOC’s executive board has decided it cannot wait for the wheels of French justice to turn.
In a statement, the IOC board said: “Considering the gravity and urgency of the situation and its impact on the reputation of the IOC, the board decides to suspend Mr Frank Fredericks from all the rights, prerogatives and functions deriving from his quality as an IOC member.”
The board added it was acting now having received a recommendation from the IOC’s ethics commission and as part of its “full commitment” to cooperating with the French authorities.
Fredericks has denied any wrongdoing but has already stood down from a number of IOC positions, including being head of the evaluation commission for the 2024 Games, and in July was suspended from his seat on the council of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
He has been accused of accepting a bribe of nearly £230,000 from Papa Massata Diack, the son of Lamine Diack, athletics’ world governing body’s disgraced ex-president, on the day Rio won the vote to host the 2016 Olympics.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here