The body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag, who had been missing for nearly a month, was discovered by South African police, local media reported on Wednesday.
Freitag, 42, who won the world championship in Paris in 2003 and competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was reportedly shot.
Authorities found Freitag’s body in a field near a cemetery in Pretoria. The formal identification by his family is still pending, but police believe the body is Freitag’s.
Freitag’s sister, Chrissie Lewis, had taken to social media seeking help to locate her brother, who disappeared in the early hours of June 17 after leaving his mother’s home. Lewis revealed that Freitag had battled drug addiction after retiring from athletics.
Jacques Freitag was among the elite athletes who have won world titles at youth, junior, and senior levels, marking a distinguished career in high jump.
