Nairobi — Twice Olympics silver medallist Frankie Fredericks is alarmed that top sprinters are becoming extinct in Africa.

Talking to journalists at the World Conference on Sport and Environment, the Namibian said since his days as the continent's top sprinter, no one has emerged to challenge athletes from America and the Carribeans at the global stage.

"I am not happy at all. In the past two Olympics, the best we have done is eighth place," said Fredericks, who won 200m silver medals in 1992 in Barcelona and four years later in Atlanta.

"African sprinters need to be as aggressive as we used to be," he said.

Fredericks, one of the most decorated sprinters to emerge from the continent, also won 200m gold medals at the 1994 and 2002 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia and Manchester respectively.

He said he is now a UN ambassador for children.

"As sportspeople, we need clean water and clean air. Without that, sports cannot develop," he said.

He retired last year after the Athens Olympics, in which he finished outside the medal bracket.

In a bid to help upcoming athletes, Fredericks set up a foundation that offers academic scholarships to talented runners.

"We have offered 60 scholarships to talented athletes. We also have set up a youth enterprise centre where we advise athletes on investment issues and negotiate collateral in case they want bank loans," said Fredericks.

Fredericks said the African circuit must be made more competitive and lucrative so that African runners do not always travel to the West for races.

"The main reason athletes run in the West is because it is a source of livelihood," he said, adding: "But if we can have a top-class circuit in Africa, it can help to project us."

Fredericks supported Kenya's bid for the 2007 World Cross Country Championships.

But he added a rider: "You guys must put up a good show to portray the continent as capable of hosting such events."

He said obsession with luxurious lifestyles was affecting athletics development on the continent.

"I grew under apartheid. It was tough. But our children have everything. They even want to be driven to and from training pitches," he said.

"I am now a Unicef ambassador. My job is to provide education and food on the table, because somebody did the same to me," he said.

Also present at the conference are top Kenyan athletes, including world 5,000m champion, Ben Limo.Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion, Ezekiel Kemboi and former world marathon record holder, Tegla Loroupe.