Missing Olympic Athlete Found Dead In Field With Multiple Gunshot Wounds

Weeks after he went missing, authorities discovered former South African Olympic athlete Jacques Freitag dead. The Olympic athlete has been missing for two weeks.

According to The Mirror, authorities found him in a field beside the Zandfontein Cemetery in Pretoria West. There were multiple gunshot wounds on the body. The Olympic athlete's mother reported him missing in mid-June. Freitag vanished just days after his birthday. Prior to his disappearance, sources said that the athlete had been going through a tough time. He had been battling an addiction to recreational drugs.

His mother said that an unknown man, who claimed to be Freitag's co-worker, picked him up from her house. He went with the man, and he was never seen again. She reported him missing shortly afterwards. Following his disappearance, his sister Chrissie Lewis manned the search for him. She helped coordinate search efforts for the missing Olympic athlete.

Olympic Athlete Dead

Police spokesman Brigadier Brenda Muridili confirmed that Freitag suffered multiple bullet wounds. Authorities are treating it as a homicide. A high jumper, Freitag was a four-time South African champion. He competed in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He ended up placing 20th.

However, the Olympic athlete held the nation's record for clearing 2.38m in South Africa. He officially decided to retire in 2013. Since then, he fell on hard times, unable to hold a job. He surfed couches and lived on the streets prior to his death. Sadly, the athlete never achieved his dream of doing multiple Olympics and winning Olympic gold.

During a 2003 interview with The World Athletics, Jacque Freitag wanted to create a lasting legacy.

“I'm a bad loser, I hate losing,” he explained. “I want to go all out and jump 2.40m which I KNOW I can do if I stay injury-free.”

He also added, “I want to do three Olympics – I've got 10 years to be all that can be,” he said. Freitag wanted to be around and a part of the party after he retired. “I think I'll hang a round and put a little back.” Sadly, his key competitor, Stefan Holm, ended up taking gold in the 2004 Olympics.

The athlete never won an Olympic medal.