South Africa is mourning the loss of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag, who was found dead in a field near a cemetery in Pretoria. According to reports, Freitag, 42, had been shot and his family has not made any public statements regarding his death.
Freitag’s sister, Chrissie Lewis, took to social media to seek assistance in finding her brother after he disappeared in the early hours of June 17. She revealed that Freitag had been struggling with drug addiction following the end of his athletics career. Despite these challenges, Freitag had achieved success as one of the few athletes to win world titles at youth, junior, and senior levels.
This tragic event has shocked the sports community in South Africa where Freitag was a well-known figure in the world of athletics. The circumstances surrounding his death are still under investigation and authorities are working to uncover the details of what led to this devastating outcome for the former high jump champion.
