Missing High Jumper Jacques Freitag Found Dead: Police Launch Murder Investigation in South Africa

The South African police have confirmed to ESPN that the body of former Olympian and high jump world champion Jacques Freitag has been found, and they have opened a murder case after he went missing last month. Initially, local media reports suggested that the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. However, SA Police Service Brigadier Brenda Muridili announced on Wednesday that the missing person’s case in Hercules had been changed to a murder investigation.

Freitag’s sister, Chrissie Lewis, made an appeal on social media to help find him after he went missing in mid-June. Lewis mentioned that he had struggled with drug addiction after his athletics career came to an end. Hendrick Mokganyetsi, the chairperson of Athletics South Africa commission, paid tribute to Freitag and recalled his achievements in high jump competitions over the years.

In 2003, Freitag won the gold medal at the world championships in Paris with a jump of 2.35 metres, becoming the first South African to achieve this feat in high jump. He also won a gold medal at the world junior championships in Santiago, Chile, in 2000 with a national record jump of 2.38 metres. Freitag’s legacy includes being among a select group of athletes who have won world titles at youth, junior, and senior levels.