Jacques Freitag

Jacques Freitag
Personal information
NationalitySouth African
Born(1982-06-11)11 June 1982
Warrenton, Cape Province, South Africa
Diedc. 1 July 2024(2024-07-01) (aged 42)
Pretoria West, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Height2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
CountrySouth Africa
SportTrack and field
EventHigh jump
Achievements and titles
Personal bestHigh jump: 2.39 (Paris 2003)
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  South Africa
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Paris High jump
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2000 Santiago High jump
World Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place 1999 Bydgoszcz High jump

Jacques Freitag (11 June 1982 – c. 1 July 2024) was a South African high jumper. Freitag is one of only eleven athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Armand Duplantis, Yelena Isinbayeva, Kirani James, Faith Kipyegon, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels, and David Storl) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.

Freitag grew up in Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng (50 km east of Pretoria). His mother, Hendrina Pieters, was South African high jump champion in 1973 with a personal best of 1.74 metres.

Freitag was found shot, and murdered in July 2024, two weeks after going missing, at the age of 42.[1][2][3]

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  South Africa
1999 World Youth Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st 2.16 m
All-Africa Games Johannesburg, South Africa 4th 2.20 m
2000 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 1st 2.24 m
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 23rd (q) 2.15 m
2003 World Championships Paris, France 1st 2.35 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 20th (q) 2.20 m
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 18th (q) 2.20 m

Awards

Education

He was in Hoërskool Erasmus in Bronkhorstspruit, then he attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), located in Pretoria.

See also

References

  1. ^ South Africa world champion Jacques Freitag missing MSN
  2. ^ "Ex-world high jump champion shot dead with body found dumped in field - The Mirror US". www.themirror.com. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Body of Former Olympian and High Jump World Champion Discovered in Field After Suspected Shooting". Peoplemag. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  4. ^ "2003 > University of Pretoria". Web.up.ac.za. 14 January 2010.[permanent dead link]
Achievements
Preceded by Men's High Jump Best Year Performance
2002
Succeeded by