Hall of Fame Inductee Frater Recalls TCU Career
1/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Outdoor Track
Sept. 18, 2014
FORT WORTH, Texas - Former TCU sprint standout and recent inductee into the Letterman's Association Hall of Fame Michael Frater shared his thoughts on the weekend and gave advice to the future of the track & field program.
Frater was a four-year letterman at TCU, competing for the Frogs from 2001-2004. His collegiate career is marked with seven All-America selections and five Conference USA titles.
Frater was one of six inducted into the 47th Hall of Fame class, joining Nick Browne, R.E. Dodson, Ellie Gibson, Adam Rubinson and Walter Soza. The festivities began with a formal ceremony and banquet on Sept. 11 and culminated on Saturday with a halftime recognition by the 43,958 in attendance at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
"It was an awesome weekend, Frater said. "Everybody was so pleasant and welcoming. I appreciated it so much. It's always great feeling appreciated for what you have done and the hard work you have put in. Since I have been at TCU, it has always been a family and I am very thankful for the support I've received."
Not only did he put in hard work on the track, but off it as well. In 2003, Frater earned Academic All-America accolades for his performance in the classroom.
At the same time, his accomplishments during his time at TCU solidified him as one of the all-time greats in the track & field program. When you've had a college career like Frater had, it's not always easy to pick one favorite memory.
"I had a numerous amount of great moments at TCU," Frater added. "I was conference MVP winning both the 100 and 200 and broke the record there. There were some awesome stories at TCU. There's so many that there's only one that really stands out at TCU."
As a senior competing at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Frater was primed and ready to capture the 100-meter crown. In his sophomore campaign, he finished fourth in the event and improved the following year with a third-place finish. 2004 was his last chance to claim a title for the Frogs.
A few weeks before the Championships, Frater posted his season-best at the regional meet with a time of 10.09 seconds. In the prelims at the Championship meet, he finished with a time of 10.20 seconds, which earned him the ninth and final slot in the finals.
When quoted after the qualifying race, Frater said, "I just didn't feel good today. That's the way it goes. I've got to prove something tomorrow."
The next night, he did just that. He broke the finish line in the finals with a wind-legal personal best time of 10.059 seconds. His mark, however, was .008 seconds short of the gold medal, won by Arkansas' Tyson Gay. It was a time that would've been the top mark in four of the last 10 years under all wind conditions.
"My favorite moment has to be when I got second at the NCAA's in the 100 meters," Frater explained. "Myself and the winner ran the same time, but unfortunately, I was given second. It was the highlight of my career."
It capped off an illustrious career at TCU, but it was only the beginning.
Frater took his talents to the world stage, representing Jamaica in the last three Olympic Games in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012).
In Beijing, Frater won a gold medal and set a new world record of 37.10 seconds running the second leg of the 4x100-meter relay with Nesta Carter, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. Frater's split time for his portion was 9.01 seconds.
In 2011 at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, the team of Carter, Frater, Yohan Blake and Bolt claimed the gold and set a new world record at 37.04 seconds.
Frater was in the business of shattering records, and the 2012 London Games would be no exception. The same squad that set the record in South Korea did it again with a time of 36.84 seconds.
All in all, Frater is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a two-time world champion gold medalist, but he continued to stay close to his roots.
"I've always kept in touch," Frater said. "We had another coach when I was here, but Coach Anderson took over and I've kept up with him and I've spoken with him quite often. We are still rebuilding but hopefully we will get back to where we were."
It's no secret that Frater is one of the fastest men on the planet. In 2011, he notched himself at the No. 22 slot on the fastest 100-meter times with a wind-aided mark of 9.88 seconds. In his career, Frater has posted 10 separate sub-10-second times in the 100-meter dash.
Despite his talents, Frater always relied on his work ethic throughout his career, and offered that advice to the next generation of track student-athletes.
"You just have to put in the hard work," Frater said. "Nothing comes easy. You have to really dedicate yourself and make sure that you put all the work in and whatever the outcomes is then you have to accept it."
