Body of former world champion Jacques Freitag found
Gauteng police are investigating a case of murder after the body of former high-jump world champion Jacques Freitag was found in Pretoria West.
Freitag’s body was found with gunshot wounds near the Zandfontein cemetery on Monday.
The 42-year-old former athlete had been missing since last month.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brenda Muridili said the Hercules police had changed the case from missing persons to murder.
"The discovery was made by the police’s search and rescue team, which comprised of the SAPS air wing as well as water wing and the local police.
"The family of the deceased has not yet identified the body. No one has been arrested, but the police are following up on leads.
"A missing persons case was reported on the 24th of June, 2024, after the sister to the missing person discovered that he was not home in Witbank on the 16th of June, 2024."
Jacques Freitag is one of only ten athletes to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior levels of an athletic event. These include the likes of Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, and Kirani James.
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