Frankie Fredericks Suspended By IAAF Over Disgraced Diack Payment

Former Olympic sprinter Frankie Fredericks of Namibia has been suspended from his role as member of the IAAF's ruling council amid a probe by the integrity unit

Former world champion sprinter Frankie Fredericks has been provisionally suspended from his role in athletics pending an ethics investigation, the IAAF said Monday.

AFP report continues:

Fredericks was suspended from his role as member of the IAAF's ruling council amid a probe by the IAAF's integrity unit led by former English Court of Appeal judge Sir Anthony Hooper, the IAAF said.

Fredericks stood down himself from his role as head of the IOC's evaluation commission for the 2024 Olympics, but the IAAF said it felt it had no choice but to officially suspend him too.

"The order for provisional suspension does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation which the athletics integrity unit is carrying out," the IAAF said.

In March the French daily Le Monde said the former sprinter received US$299,300 dollars (€262,000) from Papa Massata Diack, son of ex-IAAF president Lamine Diack, on October 2, 2009, the day Rio de Janeiro was awarded the right to host the 2016 Olympics.

The widely popular Fredericks insists that the payments were for promoting athletics events and the IAAF said Monday the suspension was not a presumption of guilt.

Fredericks says the payment had to do with a contract that had been signed in March 2007 for promotion services between 2007 and 2011.

Frankie Fredericks was Namibia's most famous athlete. Getty Images

Frankie Fredericks Suspended Pending Investigation

BBC Africa Sport reports that IAAF council member Frankie Fredericks has been provisionally suspended from athletics pending an investigation into a potential ethics violation, the sport's governing body has said.

The Namibian is being investigated by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) over payments he received from Papa Massata Diack, the son of ex-IAAF president Lamine Diack.

In March, French newspaper Le Monde claimed former sprinter Fredericks received a payment days before voting on the 2016 Olympics host city.

The four-time Olympic silver medallist says the payment was legitimate and related to his role in the promoting of several athletics events.

He told Le Monde the payment had "nothing whatsoever to do with the Olympic games".

Fredericks stepped down from two key administrative roles in March following the accusations.

He quit as head of the evaluation commission for the 2024 Olympics, and left a taskforce helping Russia return to international competition.

As head of the IOC evaluation commission, Fredericks was to lead an inspection visit to 2024 candidate cities Los Angeles and Paris.

In his written judgement, the chairman of the IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal, Michael J Beloff, said Fredericks' suspension was not a presumption of guilt.

Fredericks has also indicated that he will contest the provisional suspension, the AIU statement says.

He is the only Olympic medalist that Namibia has produced. He won two silver medals at the Olympic Games in 1992 and two at the next event in 1996.