Horrifying moment CrossFit athlete dies after disappearing under water in Texas as marshals watch on
9 August 2024, 10:19 | Updated: 10 August 2024, 07:00
A Serbian CrossFit athlete has died during a swimming event in Texas.
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Lazar Dukic vanished in the water on Thursday morning while competing at Marine Creek Lake in Fort Worth, Texas.
He was last seen around 100 metres from the end of the 800-metre swimming event.
Emergency services were called at around 8am to reports that there "was a participant in the water that was down and hadn't been seen in some point in time".
A body was recovered an hour later.
The rest of the events on day one of the CrossFit Games were cancelled following the incident.
I was a lifeguard while in HS. For 3 years I guarded at a local pond. You have no idea how incensed I am watching this video where there is a clear active drowning victim. This should result in lawsuits and jail time for the people responsible. #CrossFit pic.twitter.com/fIEHXGIHlw
— Adam Mahler (@MahlerAdam) August 8, 2024
In a statement, CrossFit said: "CrossFit is deeply saddened by the death of a CrossFit Games competitor during the swimming portion of Individual Event 1 at the 2024 CrossFit Games.
"We are fully cooperating with authorities and doing everything we can to support the family at this time.
"The remainder of today's events have been suspended.
"The well-being of competitors is our first priority and we are heartbroken by this tragic event."
Chief executive Don Faul confirmed in a news conference that safety personnel had been on site during the incident.
Dukic's cause of death is yet to be listed by the medical examiner's office.
His biography on the CrossFit website says he was the third ranked CrossFit athlete in Serbia and 88th worldwide.
