World Athletics
Gauteng Police have confirmed the murder of former high-jump world champion Jacques Freitag.
His body was found with gunshot wounds near a cemetery in Pretoria West on Monday.
The 42-year-old former athlete has been missing since the 24th of June when his sister noticed he had not been seen at his home in Witbank since the 16th.
Police spokesperson Brenda Muridili says the case has been changed from missing person to murder and no arrests have been made.
She says they are following up on several leads.
Freitag made his Olympic debut for South Africa in 2004 although he missed out on the final he bounced back a year later to increase his African record to 2.38m, a record that stands today.
South Africa’s Jacques Freitag, who won the world high jump title in 2003, has died at the age of 42.
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 2, 2024
A prodigious athlete, Freitag is one of a select group of athletes to have won individual world titles at the U18, U20 and senior level.
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