Athlete drowns during CrossFit Games in Texas

An athlete drowned during a swimming event at a CrossFit competition in Texas on Thursday, the organization said.

The death occurred on the first day of the CrossFit Games, being held in Fort Worth through Sunday. The events have been canceled for the rest of the day, CrossFit said.

Lazar Dukic, 28, of Serbia, was identified as the deceased swimmer, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner.

CrossFit CEO Don Faul said during a press briefing he is “gutted” by the death of Dukic.

“We’ll continue to be focused on our community and the family through this tragic set of circumstances,” Faul said during a press briefing midday Thursday.

The incident occurred Thursday morning in Marine Creek Lake. The Fort Worth Fire Department responded around 8 a.m. local time to a call regarding a CrossFit Games participant who went missing in the water, authorities said.

First responders used dive teams and a drone to find Dukic, who was recovered from the water about an hour after the dive team response, authorities said.

The body of the athlete was then transferred to the Tarrant County medical examiner.

“There’s a lot of people in the community that are hurting right now, that are really sad, that knew the athlete well, that loved, respected this person,” Faul said. “A lot of people are in mourning.”

Dukic was competing in his fourth CrossFit Games, along with his brother, Luka Dukic. He placed ninth in his first CrossFit Games in 2021, then eighth and ninth again the following two years.

Dukic played water polo for 10 years in Serbia before retiring from the sport and moving to the United States to study, according to the brand TYR Sport, which signed him to a deal in 2022. He returned to Serbia in 2017 and earned the title of “Serbia’s Fittest Man” for five years straight, according to TYR Sport.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Lazar Dukic,” the company said in a statement Thursday. “Lazar lit up every room he walked into with his infectious personality and smile. This tragedy has left us at a loss and our hearts are with his loved ones.”

Athlete Rich Froning, who has previously won the CrossFit Games title of “Fittest Man on Earth” four times, reacted to Dukic’s death on social media, saying he was “fortunate to have known such a respectful, talented, good-hearted man.”

“Prayer is powerful,” Froning said. “Please pray, and continue to pray, for Lazar’s family as they navigate this unbelievable tragedy.”

Faul said CrossFit is cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

The death occurred during an individual event that included a 3.5-mile run and 800-meter swim, according to the CrossFit schedule.

Cole Learn, a CrossFit athlete from Ontario, Canada, told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA he was watching the event from the sidelines when he witnessed Dukic start to struggle.

“I saw him start to kind of scramble. He started doing small turns and he was trying to get his head out of the water,” Learn told the station. “It was at that time we started screaming to the lifeguard, like, he needs help, and within seconds he was under and he never came back up.”

A lifeguard went over on a paddle board to where Dukic went under and then paddled back, Learn told WFAA.

The swimming portion of the event was being livestreamed on several platforms before abruptly stopping Thursday morning, according to WFAA. Livestreams of the event are no longer available on CrossFit Games’ platforms.

Safety personnel were on site during the event, Faul said.

Thirty teams from around the world are competing in the CrossFit Games, which is being held in Texas for the first time in its 18-year history.

CrossFit will be “regrouping” later Thursday to discuss the plan for the remainder of the games, Faul said.

“I think the CrossFit community really needs to lean on each other right now,” Learn told WFAA. “I’m not too sure where the CrossFit Games is going to go from here, but they are going to have to make some drastic measurements to make sure that this never happens again.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.