Frankie Fredericks in court over awarding of 2016 Olympics to Rio
Paris — Former world champion sprinter Frankie Fredericks appeared before a Paris judge on Thursday as part of a probe into graft allegations over the awarding of the 2016 Olympics to Rio. Fredericks, an International Olympics Committee (IOC) member, received $299,300 (¤262,000) from Papa Massata Diack, son of former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Lamine Diack, on October 2 2009 — the day Brazil won the bid. The IOC said in July that it was co-operating with French authorities investigating the allegations against the Namibian former 200m world champion and four-time Olympic silver medallist. The 50-year-old stepped down as head of the committee evaluating bids to host the 2024 Olympics in March after the corruption allegations were reported in French media. Fredericks insists that the payments were received for promotional services provided between 2007 and 2011 under a contract signed on March 11 2007, and had nothing to do with the Olympics. T...
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