The 2024 CrossFit Games are suspended after a competitor died during the event.
“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,” CrossFit Games said in a statement via Instagram on Thursday, August 8. “We are fully cooperating with authorities and doing everything we can to support the family at this time”
The organization shared that the remainder of Thursday’s events are on pause in the wake of the tragedy.
“The wellbeing of competitors is our first priority and we are heartbroken by this tragic event,” the statement concluded.
The games began on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, and are scheduled to run until Sunday, August 11.
CBS News Texas reported on Thursday that an athlete drowned in the Marine Creek Reservoir in the morning while the swimming event was going on. A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department told the outlet that they were called alongside the police after a person went underwater and didn’t come up.
The Fort Worth Police Department assisted with their dive team and drones to recover the body about an hour later. FWPD is not releasing details about the late athlete’s identity out of respect for the family.
CrossFit CEO Don Faul addressed the media following the tragedy.
“CrossFit is in some ways like a family, people care a lot about each other,” Faul said in a press conference. “There are a lot of people in the community who are hurting right now.”
Faul shared that the organization had a “fully documented safety plan” in place for the event and that safety personnel were on site throughout the event. He added that details of their safety precautions would be shared with authorities for their investigation.
CrossFit athlete Cole Learn, who witnessed the incident, claimed the victim was fellow competitor Lazar Dukic.
“We watched Lazar go under and we screamed for some lifeguards, who were pretty far away. So it was tough to do anything else,” Learn said in an emotional Instagram Story video on Thursday. “But we were yelling for lifeguards and unfortunately they couldn’t hear us and he never came back up.”
Many people online have called for CrossFit to cancel the rest of their events following the tragedy.
“The games should be canceled this year out of respect and to allow the CrossFit games to completely review their operations and understand how this happened,” one user wrote in the comments section of the CrossFit Game’s official Instagram page.
