Four-time Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee after being charged with money laundering and corruption.
Fredericks, 50, was charged by the French authorities last week.
He was accused of accepting a bribe of $299,300 (£230,000) from the son of ex-IAAF president Lamine Diack when Rio won the vote to host the 2016 Olympics.
The IOC suspended him on Tuesday citing “the impact on the IOC’s reputation”.
The IOC’s executive board said in a statement: “Considering the gravity and urgency of the situation and its impact on the reputation of the IOC, the IOC executive board decides to suspend Mr Frank Fredericks from all the rights, prerogatives and functions deriving from his quality as an IOC member.”
Namibian Fredericks, who was a member of the IAAF council and a prominent figure within the IOC, claims the money was legitimate payment for consultancy and promotional work for athletics’ governing body.
He was provisionally suspended from the IAAF in July, when the organisation’s Athletic Integrity Unit opened an investigation into the matter.
He also won gold in the 200m at the World Championships in 1993.
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