CrossFit athlete Lazar Dukic drowned Thursday during a competition in Fort Worth, Texas, only 100 yards from the finish line of a swimming event, reports say.
Dukic was seen struggling in the water near the end of a swimming event in Marine Creek Lake when he suddenly went under the water at around 8 a.m., according to the Daily Express.
The athlete had finished a 3.5-mile run before jumping into the water for the 800-meter swim leg of the event.
First responders jumped into action but were unable to locate Dukic’s body for more than an hour. He was finally pulled out of the water at around 10 a.m.
The event’s activities were canceled for the day after the incident and the subsequent recovery of the Serbian competitor’s body.
“CrossFit is deeply saddened by the death of a CrossFit Games competitor during the swimming portion of Individual Event 1 at the 2024 CrossFit Game,” the event organizers said in social media posts. The organizers added that they are cooperating with authorities to investigate the tragedy.
— The CrossFit Games (@CrossFitGames) August 8, 2024
CrossFit CEO Don Faul told the media that the CrossFit community is “gutted” by the death of the athlete.
“We’ll continue to be focused on our community and the family through this tragic set of circumstances,” Faul added, according to ABC News.
— The CrossFit Games (@CrossFitGames) August 8, 2024
CrossFit athlete Cole Learn told his Instagram followers that some of his fellow entrants yelled for lifeguards, but to no avail.
“For anyone asking for updates from the CrossFit Games, we watched Lazar go under, and we screamed for some lifeguards,” he said. We were pretty far away, so it was tough to do anything else. But we were yelling for lifeguards, and unfortunately, they couldn’t hear us, and he just never came back up.
“I am absolutely devastated. That was not something that I wanted to watch. So, just if you’re messaging me, I’m not going to message anybody back,” he exclaimed.
Dukic has been competing in CrossFit events for several years and was no amateur. He was ranked third in Serbia and 88th in the world in the male category, according to the New York Post.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
