IOC SUSPENDS FORMER NAMIBIAN SPRINTER, FRANK FREDERICKS

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The International Olympic Committee, IOC today announced the suspension of former Namibian sprinter from the board of the IOC.

His suspension was announced after a meeting of the IOC Ethics Commission on Monday (6 November 2017), shortly after Mr Frank Fredericks was officially charged by a French judge (3 November 2017).

“The IOC Ethics Commission stressed that, considering the current status of the file, “it is not in a position to make a recommendation on the value of the facts”. The Commission once again “recalled the importance of respecting the principle of the presumption of innocence for any person concerned by a criminal investigation”. Considering “the impact on the reputation of the IOC”, the IOC Ethics Commission nonetheless recommended suspending Mr Frank Fredericks from all his rights as an IOC Member”, it said.

In a statement, the IOC EB said it took note of the recommendation of the IOC Ethics Commission for Mr Fredericks and reiterated the full commitment of the IOC to cooperate with the French judicial authorities, as the IOC has the status of “Partie Civile” in this ongoing procedure.

After careful deliberation, the IOC EB took the following decision “Considering the gravity and urgency of the situation and its impact on the reputation of the IOC, the IOC EB decides to suspend Mr Frank Fredericks from all the rights, prerogatives and functions deriving from his quality as an IOC Member,” the IOC said.

Today’s decision by the IOC EB follows a previous meeting of the EB on 7 March 2017 when the Board decided that in line with the recommendation of the IOC Ethics Commission, the IOC EB accepts the resignation of Mr Frank Fredericks from the Evaluation Commission for the Olympic Games 2024.

“ In line with the recommendation of the IOC Ethics Commission, the IOC EB accepts the provisional self-suspension of Mr. Fredericks from the IOC Coordination Commission for the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018.
“The IOC EB accepts Mr Fredericks’ non-participation in the Candidate City Briefing 2024 for IOC Members and Summer Olympic International Federations in July 2017 in Lausanne and the IOC Session in Lima, Peru, in September 2017”, the IOC said.