Silver Medalist 100 and 200 Meter
WINS TWO SILVER with a special talent for sprinting. At the age of 12, Frank switched schools to play soccer. He never ran in any race but continued with soccer for three years. Under the British System, you take an academic test at age 15 to determine your next step in the education process. Frank passed and went toa college prep school of about 300 mixed students (black and white). The soccer team was not very good and asa result, Frank went out for track. He realized that he possessed some speed from his soccer days and the decision was made to participate in sprinting and long jump events. There were only four kids on the team and they really didn’t have a track coach.
In Namibia the schools are divided into five regions and during the first year not much happened besides being taught the basics. However, in the second year, Frank ran a 10.5 in a 100 meter race in the all black national meet. “I then realized that [ might have future in track,” related Frank. A white athlete ran 10.5 in his meet and so the stage was set for a showdown the following Saturday. Frank won and the papers made a big deal about it. “Relationships between whites and blacks were not good at that time. I believe they are better now though,” said Frank. Namibia administered by the Republic of South Africa.
It is only in the last two years that Namibia has became an Frank Fredericks competed in the 1992 Barcelona independent country. With well over 300,000 square Olympic Games. The result: Two Silver Medals! In front miles, Namibia is bigger than Texas and Louisiana but of a capacity crowd of more than 65,000 in the Olympic has less than 1 1/2 million people. Windhoek is the Stadium, Fredericks, who graduated from Brigham largest city. Namibia is located in Africa’s southern Young University in 1991 and was the NCAA Sprint hemisphere just north of South Africa on the Atlantic Champion at both 100 and 200 meters, tried to catch Mike Ocean side.
It features a long coast line but because of Marsh of the United States. However, down the final extremely harsh conditions of the Namibia Desert straightaway, Frederick just fell short. Marsh was clocked yielding less than 1/2 inch of rainfall per year there are with a 20.13, one of the fastest times of his career. Well almost no people. Mining is the leading economic activity back in third place was Michael Bates of the United States and Frank’s sponsor, who pays for his training expenses with a time of 20.38. Fredericks won the quarter-final heat including his education, is Rossing Uranium Mines. Only in a faster time of 20.02.
A total of 81 runners began the about 12 percent of the population is white.
200 meter competition. In the 100 meter, Fredericks, who has had a 9.91 wind In Frank’s senior year of high school, he won it all again and had a hand held time of 10.3 in his 100 meter aided time and a 9.95 legal time, finished a close second specialty. He also did the long jump and soared out at to Britian’s Linford Christie. He ran for the glory and 7.25 meters (23-7). honor of his newly formed African Country called After graduation, Frank did not go to school but had Namibia. Let us now delve into a fascinating story from a job and trained with Flip Bredenhann, a white coach, an Upper Limit person who's more than just a sprinter.
and ran a 10.1 hand held time, 10:38 electronic time and Frank was born and raised in Windhoek the capital of ran a 20.56 200 meter. Frank competed in a South African Namibia, a city of almost 100,000 people. His mother is a meet and Pat Shane an assistant track coach at Brigham seamstress and he grew up in a 4-room house. Frank’s Young University was there on a recruiting assignment. parents separated when he was just five years old at Coach Shane read in the South African paper that Frank which time Frank began the British system of education. was interested in going overseas (Europe or U.S.) to All the way through primary school, there were no school.
Coach Shane contacted Frank and as they say, the ofÏcial races. They played common elementary school rest is history. Frank took a test and qualified for a games like relays which were called potato races. scholarship and graduated from BYU in 1991 and is now However, Frank was not singled out as being someone pursuing an MBA and will finish at BYU in 1994. He carries a 3.2 GPA with an emphasis in the computer Johnson a defeat in Rome in the 200. It was Johnson’s first sciences. loss in over two years. His fastest times ever came in a “At BYU,” maintained Frank, “I fit in OK. It was very BNP Grand Prix meet in France. At age 24, the Namibian easy to adapt to.
The life at BYU is really the kind of life had a 9.91 clocking with a 5.1 mile per hour wind and Even though I’m not Mormon, the religion also ran the 200 in a blistering 19.99 with a 2.7 mph wind. classes were exciting to me. The people are very I’m used to.
These wins proved that Frank Fredericks was for real and friendly.” he established himself as a force to be reckoned with at In Frank’s first year at BYU, he took second in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) indoor 55 meter and Barcelona. A force that was good enough for two silver medals. first in the 200 meter. He won the outdoor WAC 100 and The Barcelona Olympics were an exciting time. There 200 but was shut out at the NCAA meet. His sophomore were six athletes from the new country of Namibia. year was about the same in the WAC but this time he Rossing Uranium paid for everything including expenses took 6th in the NCAA 100 and 3rd in the 200 meter.
for his mother to witness the spectacle. For Frank’s Frank improved several notches the nest year finishing success, he has been promised a good job and is 4th in the 100 and 2nd in the 200 meter at the NCAA considered a national hero. There were parades and a meet. Finally, Frank Fredericks emerged as a potent force of speech making. in his senior year by becoming the first foreigner ever to win an NCAA 100/200 double. From there, Frank just kept on improving by handing U.S.A. Superstar Michael Willard Hirschi, BYU head track coach and sprint coach, has guided Frank through all his national and Continued on page 28 competitions.
remarkable of all is Frank’s amazing consistency and injury free performances. Huge credit must be given to Coach Hirschi. Frank is always ready for a big meet and runs consistently at a top level every race. Frank did not start lifting until he got to BYU and does Parallel Squats, Deadlifts for his core exercises. Some of his auxiliaries include lat pulls, tricep extensions and leg curls. He does not do leg extensions. It is felt the Parallel Squats give enough work for the Quadriceps. When asked about Power Cleans, Frank replied, “I don’t do them but I should. I think they are too complicated.”
I told Frank, “They are not complicated if you use our training plates and use our new Power Clean Video.” I then demonstrated how easy they were: Just start slow, jump and rack it. We tried without a bar “As far as personal goals, the key is to have the team do well. If we do that, the individual goals will be easier to and he grinned. It wasn’t that hard. Anyway, I promised Frank I’d send him our video. attain. You know, there’s a point in your life when you have As far as stretching, Frank does dynamic stretching to decide what you're going to do: The heart, the will, the everyday. He keeps loose and supple during this commitment. Love what you’re doing and play every down period.
Static stretching is done mostly after lifting. “Bounding and Plyometrics have been the key to my relentlessly.” We thank Strength Coach Ray Moran, a past national success especially for consistent fast times,” said Frank. collegiate powerlifting champion and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
“I spend 15-20 minutes per day on this facet of training.
We also hope the 70 plus thousand people that watch I do some Box Jumping but not on a regular basis.” football at Kinnick Stadium truly appreciate their All- Coach Hirschi does not use a lot of aids such as the American center. Finally, we thank Mike Devlin who “Leg Shoe” or “Sport Chute” but relies mostly on personifies the true meaning of being Upper Limit. dynamic stretching, plyometrics, lifting and the technical aspects of sprinting. Frank believes that Plyometrics can really help you, especially over a WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A AM WHO DOES MOSTLY BENCHES AND CURLS longer period of time. Frank, who holds the African Record, isn’t sure how fast he can run.
He believes steroids are very wrong and one thing; Frank has never been accused of taking steroids. When Coach Hirschi first saw him, he SCHEDULE THEM! almost sent him off with the marathom runners. Frank WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TEAM WHO DOES THE SAME WORKOUT DAY AFTER DAY? approached by anyone to take them. I do believe I need is definately not a bulky muscular sprinter. He states, “I don’t know anything about steroids. I’ve never been SCHEDULE THEM! to lift more and get stronger to achieve my goals.” That perked my curiosity. “And what are those?” I asked. “To break the world record,” he replied seriously yet confidently. “You mean the 100?” I asked again.
He looked me straight in the eye, “No in both.” But then he demonstrated, “The difference between me and a World Record is only this far,” as he showed a WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU WANT GUARANTEED IMPROVEMENT? distance of less than two feet. “But”, he continued, “No one really knows just how far that actually is. It will require much improvement.” Our interview was over but somehow this Upper Limit athlete from Namibia just may be able to pull BES CLINIC! it off.
From BFS Magazine — Winter 1992. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
