The CrossFit community is mourning the loss of a standout member.
Lazar Dukic, who represented Serbia in the 2024 CrossFit Games, has tragically died at just 28 years old. Shockingly, this was DURING the competition. According to multiple reports, the athlete drowned while swimming in Marine Creek Lake in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday morning. His family revealed in a GoFundMe that “details are still unknown.” The coroner has not yet even ruled cause of death. But we do have some early details…
The Fort Worth Fire Department say they were called around 8 a.m. to assist police because there “was a participant in the water that was down and hadn’t been seen in some point in time.” Dukic’s body was found about an hour later. As we’ve seen all too tragically in recent years, even the strongest swimmers can get overwhelmed. And this competition was certainly meant to push athletes to their limits.
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What we do know is Lazar was participating in an 800-meter swim and went under with just 50 meters left. According to reports, fans said they could see him obviously struggling on the live video stream of the event — they even point to minute 37:00. The video has already been taken down — but fans posted the moment he’s left alone online. Watch at your own risk:
Whilst everyone is watching Tia race for the finish. Including it appears the @CrossFitGames safety team. lazar dukic is left to drown with apparantely spectators being turned away from attempting a rescue. #Lazar #LazarDukic #FortWorth #CrossfitGames pic.twitter.com/jsE71RQF9r
— Diverbuzz (@diverbuzz) August 8, 2024
It’s worth noting the swimming immediately followed a 3.5 mile run. In traditional triathlons, as seen on the Olympics just last week, the swimming always comes first. That way you have athletes less likely to be winded at the point in which collapsing would lead to drowning. There are also 10-12 lifeguards on duty to watch all the athletes. At this event, it’s unclear how many were on duty — but they were apparently not outfitted with special rescue equipment.
Some spectators at the actual event saw it, too — and said later they yelled for lifeguards. CrossFit athlete Cole Learn said:
“We watched Lazar go under, and we screamed for some lifeguards. They were pretty far away, so it was tough to do anything else. We were yelling for lifeguards, but unfortunately they couldn’t hear us and he never came back up. I’m absolutely devastated — that was not something I wanted to watch.”
The rest of Thursday’s events were canceled. CrossFit CEO Don Faul has not specifically responded to the safety controversy but did say there were safety personnel on site. In a news conference on Thursday he said the organization is “deeply saddened” by the tragic loss of a member of the CrossFit “family”:
“We’ll continue to be focused on our community and the family through this tragic set of circumstances.”
In their GoFundMe, Lazar’s actual family remember him “for his kindness, humor, and supportive nature” and say he “was caring, humorous and relentlessly supported those around him.”
How devastating. Our hearts are with his loved ones, and we hope if this event really does have safety issues that they’re fixed before another athlete gets back in the water.
[Image via CrossFit Games/YouTube]
