Editing Frankie Fredericks (section)

==Education and early life==
Fredericks 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, Namibia|Döbra]] to play competitive soccer. When he received a scholarship to complete his [[matric]] at [[Concordia College (Namibia)|Concordia College]] Fredericks took up athletics because the soccer was not strong at Concordia. He still played for [[Black Africa S.C.|Black Africa]], one of the country's top teams.<ref name=gentleman>{{Cite news | title=A gentleman and a scholar | last=Mackay | first=Duncan | newspaper=[[The Observer]] | date=21 July 2002 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/osm/story/0,,756917,00.html}}</ref>

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.<ref name=where>{{Cite news | title=Where are they now? Ex-sprinter Fredericks elevates from Olympiad to business executive | last=Angula | first=Conrad | newspaper=[[The Namibian]] | date=6 November 2020 | pages=30, 32 | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/96272/read/Where-are-they-now-Ex-sprinter-Fredericks-elevates-from-Olympiad-to-business-executive }}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> There he studied computer science and graduated with an [[MBA]].<ref>{{Cite web | title=About Us - Frank Fredericks Foundation | publisher=Frank Fredericks Foundation | url=https://fredericksfoundation.com/about/ | access-date=7 November 2020}}</ref>

During his college career, Fredericks earned numerous [[All-American]] citations and won three [[NCAA]] championships.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://byucougars.com/athlete/m-track-field/frank-fredericks |title=BYU Cougars: Frank Fredericks Athlete Profile |access-date=18 August 2012 |archive-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113234516/http://byucougars.com/athlete/m-track-field/frank-fredericks |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Athletics career===
In 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 (athlete)|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&nbsp;seconds in the 200 metres is the current [[List of Commonwealth Games records in athletics|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 (athlete)|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Two more Games records in Abuja – African Games – Day THREE|website=worldathletics.org|url=https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/two-more-games-records-in-abuja-african-gam|date=14 October 2003|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=athletics>{{cite web|first=Todor|last=Krastev|title=Athletics All Africa Games Abuja (NGR) 2003|url=http://www.todor66.com/Africa_Games//2003/Athletics/index.html|date=23 February 2011|website=Todor66|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref> He then went on to win the 200&nbsp;m at the [[2003 Afro-Asian Games|inaugural Afro-Asian Games]] in 2003. In the 200&nbsp;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.<ref>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.</ref>
====Personal bests====

* All information taken from athlete's World Athletics profile.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank FREDERICKS {{!}} Profile {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/namibia/frank-fredericks-14213565 |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=worldathletics.org}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Category
! Distance
! Performance
! Wind
! Location
! Date
|-
! rowspan="3" |Outdoor
| [[100 metres]]
| 9.86
| – 0.4&nbsp;m/s
| [[Lausanne]]
| 3 July 1996
|-
| [[200 metres]]
| 19.68
| + 0.4&nbsp;m/s
| [[Atlanta]]
| 1 August 1996
|-
| [[400 metres]]
| 46.28
|
| [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]]
| 25 March 1989
|-
! rowspan="6" |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]] [[Image:Sport records icon WR.svg|22px|World Record]]
|19.92
|
|[[Liévin]]
|18 February 1996
|-
|[[300 metres]]
|32.36
|
|[[Karlsruhe]]
|28 February 2003
|-
|[[Long jump]]
|7.57 m
|
|[[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]]
|22 February 1991
|}