http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/3195710.stm
Fredericks denies quit reports
Fredericks said he was misquoted by journalists
Former world 200m champion Frankie Fredericks has denied he is retiring from international competition.
Reports last week quoted the Namibian sprinter saying the African Games would be his last international meeting.
However, the 36-year-old three-time Olympic silver medallist insisted he was misquoted by journalists.
“I was shocked. What I said was that this is definitely my last All Africa games because I am not going to compete at 40,” Fredericks said.
Fredericks added that he was preparing to compete in the 2004 Olympics.
“I am not retiring,” he said.
Consistent
Fredericks took silver behind Uchenna Emedolu at the African Games, and was afterwards reported to be ready to leave the international scene.
“This is my last international competition and I’m happy passing on the baton of African athletics to Uchenna,” Fredericks said in the reports.
“He and the new generation of sprinters will represent the continent well.”
Fredericks has been one of the most consistent performers in championships during the past decade.
He was 200m outdoor world champion in Stuttgart in 1993, and indoor world champion in 1999.
Four Olympic silvers may suggest he was a nearly man of athletics, but Fredericks produced performances to match any sprinter.
After taking second place in the 100m and 200m at Barcelona, Fredericks repeated the feat in Atlanta in 1996.
He may have been disappointed with the return, but it took Michael Johnson’s world record of 19.32 seconds to deny him 200m gold.
Fredericks ran an African record 19.68 to win silver - still the second fastest run ever over the distance.