Olympics-IOC's Fredericks steps down as 2024 Games evaluation chief

BERLIN, March 7 (Reuters) - International Olympic Committee member Frank Fredericks on Tuesday stepped down as head of the evaluation commission for the 2024 Olympics following an IOC ethics probe into claims he received money from a disgraced marketing consultant. Namibian Fredericks, a former Olympic sprinter, denied any wrongdoing and said he was stepping down so as not to be a distraction in the investigation. On Monday he had also stepped down as head of a task force at the international athletics federation (IAAF). As head of the IOC evaluation commission, Fredericks was to lead an inspection visit to 2024 candidate cities Los Angeles and Paris in coming weeks and draft a report ahead of a vote on awarding the Games in September. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by John Stonestreet)