Athens: Frank Fredericks, one of the greatest, and unluckiest, sprinters of the last 20 years said on Tuesday he would retire from athletics after the Olympic 200 metres.

The 36-year-old Fredericks, a national hero in Namibia after two decades of top-class performances in all the major championships, won his first-round heat in the 200m in 20.54 on Tuesday, having failed to make Sunday’s 100m final.

“This is it,” he said. “The end of the 200m is the end of my career.

“I will go home and spend time with my family.”