Namibian athletes lack drive to succeed – Fredericks

WINDHOEK – Legendary sprinter Frank Fredericks says Namibia’s current crop of athletes lack the drive to succeed.

The four-time Olympic Games silver medallist said even if a lot of money is pumped into sports, athletes would need to have the drive, hunger and determination to succeed, attributes which the present generation does not have.

Fredericks was speaking to Nampa on Friday during the Frank Fredericks Foundation Golf Day at the Omeya Golf Course on the southern outskirts of Windhoek.

“It is not an easy ride to be a professional athlete, and most athletes in the country quit the sport when the going gets tough,” he said, citing how some athletes left the sport after being told they were not performing to the best of their abilities.

“Most athletes look at my lifestyle, then think it was easy. But it was tough during the lonely days as an athlete.”

Fredericks said Namibians are not supportive when athletes are not doing well. But if athletes want to be champions, they need to turn a blind eye to what is being said, and focus on their goals.

“If had I listened to all the criticism, I would have quit a long time ago without achieving the goals that I set for myself,” the former sprinter master said, referencing his earlier ambitions of getting his mother out of poverty, which were realised through the support of the Rossing Uranium mine, which sponsored him.

Fredericks said young athletes should start “taking it on the chin” and pay more attention to what they can do on the track, instead of what people say they can do.

“I had a drive of becoming the fastest African athlete, and then I wanted to be the fastest in the world. Those were the first things that drove me. I never listened to what my critics said because they never understood what I wanted to achieve.”

Namibia’s most recognised athlete to date said despite not winning an Olympic gold medal, he has no regrets, but hopes the current generation of athletes can continue with that dream.

“I do not see young athletes saying Frankie never won the country an Olympic gold medal, and I want to be the first. That is the hunger I currently do not see.”

He added that when he was an athlete, there were guys more talented than him, but they did not have the drive, “which is why Namibia only had one Frankie”. – Nampa

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