Sky is limit for Springbok leaper

Jacques Freitag’s gold medal High Jump performance was one of the revelations of the 2003 World Championships, and on a recent visit to South Africa, Scottish freelancer Sandy Sutherland caught up with the 21 year-old in Pretoria in an exclusive interview for the IAAF internet.

Had he followed in his father's footsteps he might well have been representing South Africa in Australia at the Rugby World Cup or, given his height and leaping ability and if he had been born in the USA he might well have been a basketball player.

Jacques Freitag's late father Jan, a 6ft 5in (1.96m) tall full back, had been good enough to represent the South African provincial rugby side, the Griquas.

Coaching mother

But the man who won the World High Jump title in Paris last August and is a clear favourite to strike gold in Athens next year was influenced more by his high jumping mother, who became his coach.

In 1972 Hendrine Pieterse won the South African women's High Jump title for the first and only time with the modest height of 1.72 metres, (which she later improved to 1.85m in other competition).

But little did she realise then that 30 years later she would become even more famous as the mother of one of the most prodigious talents to have emerged in her event.

When the 6ft 10in (2.08m) tall Freitag captured the World title in the Stade de France in Paris last August he not only gave South Africa an unprecedented second high jump gold medal to match Hestrie Cloetie's women's gold, he also maintained a remarkable run of success from World Youth Champion in 1999 to World Junior Champion in 2000 to World Senior Champion at the age of 21. So it will come as no surprise to most people to learn that Athens 2004 in his next target.

"The only thing missing is the Olympic title," says the man, who, almost apocryphally, spent the first four years of his life on a springbok farm.

Born in Warrenton in the near desert conditions of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, Freitag moved north to the more rarefied but slightly less arid atmosphere of the High Veld and later went to school at Erasmus High, an Afrikaans-speaking school in Bronkhorspruit, a town not far from Johannesburg.

Relentless progress

By this time his mother had begun coaching him, as she was to do until he was 16, this family team were soon making relentless progress, with Freitag clearing 2.05m as a 16-year-old.
Recognising the need for a change and under the guidance of new coach Hugo Badenhorst he went on to break the South African record in 1999 with a leap of 2.25m, a height he improved to 2.30m the following year.

In 1999 Freitag also tasted his first international success, winning the World Youth title in Bydgoscz, Poland with a, by his standards, modest 2.16m.

By the age of 18, Freitag had set a new South African record of 2.31m, but his hopes of going to the Sydney Olympics were dashed when the South African authorities deemed him too young and instead he was dispatched to the World Junior Championships in Chile where he duly cleared 2.26m to win.

Edmonton disaster

But the step up to senior ranks did not prove so trouble-free as anticipated.

The 2001 World Championships in Edmonton were a complete disaster, Freitag managing only 2.15m for 13th and last in his pool. But during that negative experience the seeds of future success may have been sown.

"I'm a bad loser, I hate losing," this likeable leaper explained to me on a delightful spring day amid the jacaranda blossom in Pretoria at the home of the South African Institute of Sport where he is now based.

"I came back, got more focussed and moved in with my coach for six months."

Coach is Jonathan Greyvenstein who was formerly coach to South Africa's multi-titled Germaine Weavers (Gayle) and also coach to Johan Van der Westhuizen, the legendary Springbok scrum-half who was no mean athlete before concentrating on performing with the oval ball.

Highest in 2002 but also injured

Freitag soared to 2.37m to lead the World lists for 2002 but a major injury – a broke ankle – ended his season in early June 2002 and prevented him claiming what seemed like an almost certain gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

It proved only a blip however on a rising graph of success and confidence which culminated in an almost ruthless execution of the World Championship competition in Paris last August.

Freitag now expects to excel: "I want to all out and jump 2.40m which I KNOW I can do if I stay injury free," he says without any hint of arrogance.

When you ask him who his main rivals might be for next year's Olympics there is an almost deferential hesitation before he names anyone: "Stefan Holm is consistent and Mark Boswell can come out and jump really competitively."

Freitag also has huge respect for 1996 Olympic champion Charles Austin of the USA who was "the only guy who spoke to me when I arrived first on the circuit." Now Freitag always shares a room with the likeable American.

Though he did experience some sensitivity in his ankle after Paris, Freitag took only two weeks off (to go to the beach with girl friend Carike Pieterse) before getting down to hard work again.

When I spoke to him he was in the midst of a series of maximum tests, having been working in the pool and on the bike "just to get into it again."

He is full of praise for the support he receives at the Institute, which is sited near the University of Pretoria sports grounds where he has a specially laid "tartan" jumping fan. "All the coaches share information, which is great," he says.

2004 Indoor season planned

Freitag intends to have a break in the heavy work next month to compete in at least one South African meeting and, surprisingly perhaps, he intends to compete in the World Indoor Championships in Budapest next March before returning home for the South African Championships which he will probably have to do to clinch his Olympic place: "I'll just do enough indoors to get me ready for that."

If the leggy Springbok, who quit High School to become a full-time athlete, does not top the rostrum in Greece however he will not regard it as the end of the world.

"I want to do three Olympics - I've got 10 years to be all that can be," he insists, pointing to the example of fellow South African, pole vaulter Okkert Brits, who has been an inspiration to him and produced his best at the age of 30 (World silver medal).

And after his competitive days are over he wants to stay in the athletics family: "I think I'll hang a round and put a little back."

But first he warns the world: "Just watch the South Africans soar next year."