Jacques Freitag

Jacques Freitag (11 June 1982 – c. 1 July 2024) was a South African high jumper. He is one of only ten athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Yelena Isinbayeva, Kirani James, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels, David Storl and Faith Kipyegon) 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 dead in July 2024, two weeks after going missing, at the age of 42. His case is being considered a murder.

Awards

 * 2003 University of Pretoria Sportsman of the year.

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.