Former star South African athlete Jacques Freitag was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on Monday after he was reported missing a day after his 42nd birthday.
The former high jumper was found dead in a field near Zandfontein cemetery in Pretoria West.
Freitag had been reported missing two weeks earlier after being last seen alive leaving a guesthouse in Pretoria West on June 13.
Freitag’s troubles began in 2012 when he was arrested for possessing the illegal drug CAT (methcathinone).
Tshwane police stopped the once-celebrated athlete after running a red light in Bronkhorstspruit.
Before his death, Freitag had been picked up by an unknown man from his mother’s home in Bronkhorstspruit, Citizen reported.
He was allegedly offered a job promising R60,000 but received only R6,000 for not completing it. He was last seen when the man dropped him off at a bridge in Booysens, Pretoria.
There are unconfirmed allegations that Freitag was murdered, potentially involving a notorious drug dealer. The police are investigating his death as a murder, with no arrests made yet.
Freitag was a great athlete, winning world championship titles at youth, junior, and senior levels.
At 21, he won gold in the high jump at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, clearing 2.35 metres. He still holds the African record with a leap of 2.38 metres, set in 2005.
His former coach, Hugo Badenhorst, described Freitag as talented and intelligent but explained that his life went off track.
Freitag’s sister, Chrissie Lewis, said that his addiction worsened after he broke his ankle just before the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Chrissie described how his addiction affected their relationship. She, a single mother, had to protect her children from drug use, which meant staying away from her brother.
Compiled by Staff Writer
Pictured above: Jacques Freitag.
Source: File
