Frank Fredericks steps down as 2024 Olympic Games evaulation chairman
Tuesday 7 March 2017 16:38, UK
Frank Fredericks has stepped down from his role overseeing the bidding process for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The decision comes a day after a $300,000 payment to Fredericks from banned track official Papa Massata Diack was revealed in a newspaper report.
Fredericks denies any wrongdoing but the Namibian sprinter, a four-time Olympic silver medallist, says stepping aside as IOC evaluation chairman is "in the best interests" of the bidding process.
He was to have led an April 23-25 visit to Los Angeles and would also have visited sole competitor Paris before drafting a report ahead of the vote to decide the host city in September.
Fredericks said: "Paris and Los Angeles are presenting two fantastic candidatures and I do not wish to become a distraction."
Patrick Baumann, Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), has been named as Fredericks' replacement.
