CrossFit Games death: Latest update after athlete drowning in Fort Worth, Texas

A CrossFit Games athlete died after a reported drowning in a Fort Worth lake on August 8, 2024, during the first day of competition in the multi-day event, officials said.
CrossFit officials in a news conference confirmed that a CrossFit athlete drowned in the swim portion of the CrossFit Game's first event. The event was held at Marine Creek Lake, near the Tarrant County College Northwest campus.
The victim was identified as Lazar Dukic, 28, of Serbia, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office. Dukic was pronounced dead at 10:24 a.m., the medical examiner records said.
A cause of the death was not initially listed Thursday afternoon.
The rest of the CrossFit Games events were canceled for Thursday. Officials have not decided whether they will cancel the remainder of the games, which are scheduled to run through the weekend, CrossFit CEO Don Faul said at the news conference.
“CrossFit is deeply saddened by the death of one of our athletes in the swim portion of our event this morning … We are collaborating, we are working very closely with the authorities with the follow-up investigation,” Faul said.
Cole Learn, a CrossFit athlete from Ontario, Canada witnessed the drowning from the shore of the lake Thursday morning.
"Absolutely devastated, not sure what to think, and almost in denial," Learn said.
FULL STORY: www.wfaa.com/a...

[@mistameanor1]

As a member of the CrossFit community, thank you for this coverage and information. We are heartbroken. There is a GoFundMe effort for the family.

[@2011hwalker]

None of the life guards were paying attention. This was preventable.

[@marc73kg]

The question is if there are actual lifeguards in there? Most of them are volunteers only.

[@HereForFun98]

I question if they’re certified lifeguards. Cause I doubt think this would have happened if they were. The training is extremely rigorous.

[@mc33377]

They're Crossfit mums who do one workout a week

[@maycievanpatten6633]

Beyond preventable!

[@2011hwalker]

@@HereForFun98 Good point, I shouldnt have called them lifeguards-but its still horrendous no one identified he was in distress...

[@alliealaska7858]

The details are the man was struggling for quite some time with two paddleboarders one on either side of him within probably 50 yards and...

[@ajunielpe]

😢

[@floralmae]

And people from the shore could tell. Negligence. I don't understand how this event was sanctioned by city, their insurance, etc with such low standards for safety.

[@miriamvenegas6082]

A tragedy that could have been prevented, it blows my mind on how lifeguards weren't readily available to respond and render aid. This is a very sad day for the CrossFit Community.

[@trojansky2348]

Completely preventable - what a loss

[@Valkyrie-OD1115]

This was 100% preventable! Not enough lifeguards and the ones that had the task of watching at the finish line failed to do their jobs! When people on shore noticed and you didn’t that’s unacceptable! I watched it live and you could clearly see that man was in distress! CrossFit HQ is responsible for the arrogance of thinking these athletes didn’t need more safety! They are responsible for the lifeguards not responding appropriately! They shut everything down and removed the video because they are in damage control mode! Dave Castro was a Seal! Of all people he knows how deadly the water can be to the most experienced person!

[@samanthasmith4038]

I agree it’s unacceptable lifeguards failed

[@Dodibird777]

Very sad, Prayers for Lazars family. Sounds like he was neglected by those that were supposed to be guarding these situations.

[@DOLfirst]

This is so heartbreaking.

[@DOLfirst]

How does crossfit go on from this? I don't think it was a heat related event. There were too many contestants in the water at once and not enough lifeguards monitoring the swimmers

[@dylanjohns8409]

I don’t know why the CrossFit games still does open water swimming. It’s not like they’re all Olympic swimmers. For majority of them they’re just amateur swimmers. So when you take that into account plus the fact that there’ll be a lot of crowded swimmers with choppy water. Even if you’re good at swimming, one gulp of water in that scenario and then things like this happen.

[@bennwaters5851]

Exactly. Most crossfit games competitors are very average swimmers, bikers and runners. They just have to do it because it’s usually part of the event.

[@CruJones81]

Dukic was probably one of the best 3 swimmers in the event. He used to water polo. Had to be a some type of Cardiac event or something similar.

[@maycievanpatten6633]

Agreed!

[@bennwaters5851]

@@CruJones81water polo ain’t open water swimming. This has been several years in the making.

[@valottaway9174]

Run before the swim ???? .......... madness !!!

[@kaitlinpritchard8657]

I was there at the lake this morning and watched all this unfold, it's just devastating :-(

[@Hans.georg63]

Why you are not helping?

[@kaitlinpritchard8657]

@@Hans.georg63 I guess I'm just that selfish...... get a life man.

[@AprilTheRockStar]

I'm sorry. It was hard enough to watch it on a screen; I can't imagine seeing it in person.

[@samanthasmith4038]

The life guards need to be held responsible. They did nothing to help and nobody stopped the race. How sad. Kudos to the spectator for trying to do something

[@antoniomaceo4706]

RIP. Condolences to the family of this young man.

[@deirdrehar]

This was a preventable tragedy. Heartbreaking .

[@JellieNellie]

I appreciate your thought provoking and sensitive reporting. You raised some good questions while still remaining objective.

[@gibbie63]

I was expecting the swim to be more than a mile it was only an 800. Need more people on the water. Safety safety safety

[@jro558]

Please keep us updated. Thank you for being there

[@Cuddly-Cactus]

So I don't understand why in the actual f this preventable tragedy occurred. They have lifeguards on duty for the Olympic swimming competitions and thoes events take place in a pool! And obviously it doesn't matter how physically fit and skilled one is, since events like cardiac arrest can and do happen to athletes in prime physical condition. Moving forward, I hope the family of the deceased files a massive lawsuit because gross negligence is definitely a thing that appears to have happened here (and with the little information that I've gotten on this case, there should be both a criminal suit and a civil suit.) And then hopefully the way these events are structured will be changed drastically to prevent this type of tragedy from happening ever again. Someone lost their life due to either incompetence or negligence or perhaps a combination of both. Safety for various sporting competition events is something that we as a society have figured out a long time ago. This is both incredibly sad and infuriating.

[@thomasm0310]

RIP Lazar.

[@arthurtheaardvark13]

Absolutely devastating

[@ftakenouchi1464]

Big lawsuit coming.

[@andrewB104]

Great reporting. Spot on. Thank you

[@coryp164]

Blaming anything on the weather or the workout is ridiculous. This is a fitness competition. It was a pretty standard crossfit games workout.

[@1darknickguuurrrr]

Agreed. The athletes have trained this actually workout. It was just a horrible accident

[@alexanderarsjo3729]

@@1darknickguuurrrr that easily could have been avoided.

[@samanthasmith4038]

The lifeguards failed him. What’s the point of having them if they didn’t do their job

[@1darknickguuurrrr]

@@alexanderarsjo3729 do we know the details??

[@1darknickguuurrrr]

@@alexanderarsjo3729 easy to say that from behind your screen

[@TandTnature]

How would they compete after this? Very sad😢😢😢

[@Ehhhhhsureeee]

Yes thank you for the coverage but also dont say it is 100 degrees out right now as if that was the temp when the tragic event happened.

[@deirdrehar]

Apparently the games are going ahead. Alot of competitors have pulled out too.

[@abalogh87]

Cancelling the games, what does that accomplish? ZERO. Keep the games going, honor him and the community.

[@gottas33]

Other sports cancel the games to give folks time to grieve and regroup

[@abalogh87]

@@gottas33 postpone. Not cancel .

[@whileucan_lyncvch]

???

[@roabba8994]

Little women DEI hire lifeguards are not equiped to handle 200+lb men...rip

[@zachwhalen1829]

It’s completely normal in these situations to lash out and try to find someone or something to blame. Right now there is nothing to blame until all the information comes out. Lots of reasons to go on and lots of reasons to stop. At the end of the day it’s a lose lose situation. My opinion, stopping the competition doesn’t change a thing and i think they should continue. You celebrate life by living life. By stopping the competition i think you miss an opportunity for the community to come together to grieve and process what happened. I also don’t think the family cares. All they want is their son,brother,husband back and everything else in life is irrelevant.

[@samanthasmith4038]

Lifeguards failed him

[@zachwhalen1829]

@@samanthasmith4038 Personal opinion or facts?

[@pkc-Steelkilt]

pretty sure crossfit is to blame

[@zachwhalen1829]

@@pkc-Steelkilt What a lazy, generalized, uneducated, no context, pointless statement to make. Feel free to expand and add actual facts and findings from the information and investigation that comes out. For the record i’m not saying there’s no one to blame, I’m saying I’M going to wait until all the information comes out before making uneducated accusations like the buffoons in comment sections.

[@pkc-Steelkilt]

@@zachwhalen1829 it's a completely reasonable assumption

[@jgro9]

honestly, if they cancel the games, we might see a tragic ending to crossfit. i really dont think they can cancel the games, nor do i think they should. im not being insensitive, im being realistic. you have the competitors, sponsors, contracts, spectators, media...i imagine a lawsuit will follow as well.

[@shirohige291]

People forget that this is exactly what people warned you would happen if you took the V in 2021

[@dennisnguyen8105]

I thought it was DEI and immigrants that were to blame.

[@cardozoinator]

Why would there even consider continuing this event. Out of respect for the family there is no reason for this to go on!!!

[@zachwhalen1829]

Lots of reasons to go on and lots of reasons to stop. At the end of the day it’s a lose lose situation. My opinion, stopping the competition doesn’t change a thing and i think they should continue. You celebrate life by living life. By stopping the competition i think you miss an opportunity for the community to come together to grieve and process what happened. I also don’t think the family cares. All they want is their son,brother,husband back and everything else in life is irrelevant.

[@cardozoinator]

@@zachwhalen1829 i disagree. I'm sure the family cares, they have not had any time to process what has happened. There is not an understanding as to what happened. People where in kayaks and watched him struggle without helping. That needs to be investigated. This is not the Olympics, it's some stupid Crossfit Games. Nothing that matters to anyone at.the end of the day!!!

[@zachwhalen1829]

Agree to disagree about the family but you’re basically agreeing with me on other things. There is no one to blame. Like you said, “there is not an understanding as to what happened” which is currently being investigated. Lets just hold judgement until we have the facts. It’s more important than the Olympics tO TONS of people (me included). To say it doesn’t matter to anyone just discredits you as a decent human with any sort of logical opinions. Why are you even here if you don’t care or know anything about the sport?

[@cardozoinator]

@@zachwhalen1829 i'm here b/c a man died swimming at some stupid event that i don't know anyone that really cares about, except bored men, that are all trying to out do each other. And at this point since it could have been a failure for the event to keep participants safe, then they should not continue. Not sure why they were swimming in that nasty water in the first place.!!!

[@zachwhalen1829]

@@cardozoinator default to insults and trying to put down a massive community and their sport? That’s all i needed to know about you Karen. Ps. People have died at the olympics all a lot of major sports for that matter. Yet they continue ✌🏽

[@dennisnguyen8105]

Elon Musk will blame CrossFit for being woke.

[@stuffjoshisdoing5264]

This guy clearly doesn't know anything about CrossFit or Lazar. He's just throwing junk out and saying that you can't do that. Kind of a joke.

[@sallyruss4574]

CANCEL THESE GAMES!!!!!

[@patriciaperez-h3o]

They shouldn’t continue with the events. Horrible thing to happen in Day 1

[@rsdouglass4]

Agreed. Cancel the entire weekend

[@sallyruss4574]

@@rsdouglass4 I completely agree. Cancel these games and Crossfit is to blame for this as you can clearly see this poor soul struggling for so long in the water and no one saw this and tried to help?1 Just horrible!

[@zachwhalen1829]

It’s completely normal in these situations to lash out and try to find someone or something to blame. Right now there is not. Lots of reasons to go on and lots of reasons to stop. At the end of the day it’s a lose lose situation. My opinion, stopping the competition doesn’t change a thing and i think they should continue. You celebrate life by living life. By stopping the competition i think you miss an opportunity for the community to come together to grieve and process what happened. I also don’t think the family cares. All they want is their son,brother,husband back and everything else in life is irrelevant.

[@bbqujeh]

I had a bad feeling this morning that there would eventually be drowning crossfit, they should have known no water event, they're crossfitter's not triathletes. Please say a little prayer for his family.

[@anthonyamann2430]

I totally disagree with your assessment, especially knowing Lazar's background with swimming.

[@bbqujeh]

@@anthonyamann2430 I stand by my statement, three of my child friends all drowned in lake Texoma in 1973.

[@dylanjohns8409]

@@anthonyamann2430no matter how good of a swimmer you, in this situation where you’re open water swimming with 50+ people crowded together there’s a disaster waiting to happen.

[@bennwaters5851]

@@anthonyamann2430most crossfitters at the games are average swimmers, bikers and runners at best. They are not triathletes.

[@samanthasmith4038]

They tired them out with the running beforehand

[@PhantomCucu]

Stop these Games. In a video you can easily see lazar dukic at only 100 meters from the arrival, asking help, all the people and responsible looking another way. No safe rescue organization. This is not a tragedy. Its a crime. And you the Crossfit games organizers will go the prison.