A year ago, speaking from a drug rehabilitation centre, a brutally honest Jacques Freitag spoke about the ups and downs of his troubled life.
His name appears alongside iconic athletes such as Usain Bolt, but Jacques Freitag’s meteoric rise to sporting fame and fortune came at a high price.
Freitag’s bullet-riddled body was found in a field near Zandfontein Cemetery in Pretoria West on Monday afternoon, July 1 this year, during an extensive search operation for the former world high jump champion.
The 2.04-metre-tall giant turned 42 just days before a man picked him up in the early hours of Monday 17 June from the Bronkhorstspruit home of his mother, Hendrina Pieters.
Hours later he was dropped off at a guest house in Pretoria West, where he was last seen alive. The guest house is located 4km from the cemetery where Freitag’s body was discovered.
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Jacques Freitag murder: Could this be the mystery man?
In the latest developments in his baffling murder case, Maroela media He claims the previously unknown man is a former lawyer from Pretoria.
This came after the publication traced the number from which Freitag called the guesthouse several hours later that morning to ask about a room before his arrival.
Red24 Police are also reported to have returned to the scene where Freitag’s body was found on Thursday afternoon to search for more evidence.
The former athlete was also allegedly stabbed, but police searches for the knife, bullet and shell casings yielded no results.
Former high jump star seeks help at a rehabilitation center
In July 2023, the 2.04-metre giant sought help for his years-long battle with drug and alcohol addiction at the Breakthrough Wellness Centre in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga.
While at the center, Freitag spoke in an interview with Witbank News about the trials and tribulations of his life.
“I’m a drug addict. A recovering addict. I’m a mistake from God,” said the former four-time South African gold medalist.
Courage and glory: Jacques Freitag on top of the world
Freitag was just 21 years old when he won the gold medal in the men’s high jump, leaping 2.35 m, at the 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at the Stade de France in Paris on 25 August 2003.
He still holds the national record after jumping 2.38m, which he set at a competition in 2005, and is one of only 10 athletes to have won world championship titles at the youth, junior and senior levels of an athletics event.
“I got carried away” – Freitag on fame and fortune
“I felt alone even though I was in a stadium surrounded by thousands of people. I remember sitting on the high jump mat, praying,” the former high jumper revealed.
“That was the day I tried to make a deal with God. I promised him that if I won, I would proclaim his name from the mountaintops. But when I won, I got carried away by the camera flashes, the thunderous applause, the parties, the drugs and the women that came after.
“There, on that high jump mat, was the last time I prayed,” Freitag confessed.
What followed next eventually led to a series of unfortunate events.
The young star’s dreams of Olympic glory were dashed when she broke her ankle just days before competing in Athens in 2004.
‘I would have broken the world record for the men’s high jump’
“In the last 30 years, there has not been an athlete with the same immense potential that he had,” said Freitag’s former coach, Hugo Badenhorst. Maroela media after the shocking news of his death.
“Had he continued his sporting career, he would have broken the men’s world record for the high jump, which has stood since 1991. When he was competing, his personal best was just 7 cm off the record.”
Badenhorst took Freitag under his wing when the then-troubled teenager was basically living on the streets after his father committed suicide.
In addition to his phenomenal talent, Badenhorst remembers the young Freitag as an outgoing and highly intelligent person.
Freitag talks about the ‘scars’ of his fight against drugs
In its Witbank News In the interview, Freitag talked about how his addiction to drugs and sleeping pills impacted his life.
I stupidly thought I could handle it, but I lost my wife and two-year-old son along the way.
Shortly after being arrested in 2012 for possession of the drug CAT (methcathinone), he began training young athletes.
“I was just a ‘half-coach’. I was always on drugs. If I could go back in time, I would have been able to produce more champions,” Freitag said.
Suicide attempt and traffic accident
In a shocking revelation, the former golden boy of South African athletics told the publication that he attempted to take his own life at the age of 35.
“I no longer had the world at my feet and I no longer believed in myself, so I hanged myself,” he said.
He woke up a week later in Millpark Hospital.
A year later, Freitag broke his neck in two places in a car accident.
Jacques Freitag: romance and relapse
His ex-girlfriend, Michaela Fourie, said Red24 This week, Freitag was “doing really well” earlier this year.
Fourie and Freitag had known each other for more than 20 years. The high jumper got in touch with her when he moved to eMalahleni in Mpumalanga to enroll at the Breakthrough Wellness Centre.
An emotional Fourie said they spent a lot of time together and ended up dating.
“He was doing really well and even started coaching again at a couple of schools. He built up a good relationship with the kids and the teachers. But unfortunately he started drinking again and that’s why I ended our relationship on March 27 this year.”
‘What a great pity!’
A reliable source who tried to help Freitag get his life back told Maroela Media that the former world champion was also using tik (methamphetamine) just a few months ago.
“Jacques couldn’t stop taking drugs,” said his former high jump coach. “A lot of people tried to help him. It’s a shame that such a great talent has now been lost.”
- Police are investigating a case of murder. In an update provided on Thursday, Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier General Brenda Muridili said no arrests have been made at this stage.
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