Serbian athlete dies while swimming in CrossFit Games in Texas https://t.co/q4LDS6q9VY
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 8, 2024
Serbian athlete Lazar Dukic disappeared under the water moments from the finish line at the CrossFit games and was later confirmed to have drowned. The incident was witnessed by spectators in person and on live stream, though two crew members on paddle boards in the water do not appear to notice his distress.
JUST IN: Serbian CrossFit athlete Lazar Dukic disappears under the water just moments before crossing the finish line during the 2024 CrossFit Games.
Dukic’s team told the organizers he didn’t emerge from the water which prompted a dive team to look for him.
“It is our… pic.twitter.com/Q0jcYJfbLf
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 8, 2024
The safety plan of the event has been called into question. The CEO of CrossFit said “We have, for an event like this, a fully documented safety plan. We had safety personnel on-site for the event. All of the details around the process, the event, what unfolded today, that’ll be a part of the details that we work on with authorities.”
Notably, the event was a “Run Swim” – a 3.5 mile run followed by an 800m swim. Typically, in events like triathlons, the swim portion is first as fatigue would be the most dangerous in that setting.
