An athlete drowned while competing in a swimming competition in Texas as part of the 2024 CrossFit Games on Thursday.
The Tarrant County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Lazar Dukic, a 28-year-old athlete from Serbia, The US Environmental Protection Agency (WFAA) reported that.
The incident occurred during the first event of the Games, called “Lake Day“Which involved running 3.5 miles, followed by swimming 800 meters, or half a mile.
Dukic disappeared around 8 a.m. while swimming at the event. He appeared to be in difficulty, according to eyewitness reports.
Cole Learn, a competitor from Ontario, Canada, told WFAA he saw the athlete doing small spins in the water, trying to stay afloat before he drowned.
“At that moment we started screaming for the lifeguard, he needed help, and within a few seconds he was underwater, and he never came out,” he said.
The Fort Worth Fire Department and Fort Worth Police were called to the Marine Creek Reservoir around 8 a.m. local time, CBS News reported.
A dive team and drones helped officials locate the body about an hour later, fire department spokesman Craig Trojack said.
The remaining events for the day have been canceled. “We will continue to focus on our community and our families during these tragic circumstances,” CrossFit CEO Don Fowle said during a press conference.
The investigation is ongoing.
Fire department personnel were not initially on the lake, but Fowle said other safety personnel were present during the event, according to News letters.
Law enforcement is investigating the events and circumstances surrounding the drowning, Fowler said. He told WFAA News Agency,.
“I’m not entirely sure where the CrossFit Games will go from here, but they’re going to have to do some radical measuring to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Learn said.
The competition rules state that athletes must: Signboard Exemption. These racing exemptions are common and help protect race directors and sponsors, not competitors. Basically, if a competitor is injured, dies, or has something stolen, the exemption Protect Protecting directors and sponsors from being sued.
Other athletes have suffered similarly during CrossFit competitions.
CrossFit athlete Matt Fraser nearly died in 2017, according to his endurance coach. Chris Henshaw It was said in 2021 on the podcast. Mark Bell’s Energy Project.
Frazier said he nearly drowned one year during the Olympics and was helped to save by another athlete, Brent Fikowski, according to Men’s Health.
That same year, Will Powell had trouble swimming the 500 meters in Wisconsin. Two other athletes, Robert Caslen and Jos van der Voort, managed to keep him from slipping underwater. The US Environmental Protection Agency (WFAA) reported that.
Tarrant Regional Water District Website Describe Marine Creek Lake is a quiet lake that is ideal for swimming, kayaking and other water sports.