A CrossFit Games competitor died while swimming Thursday morning in a Texas lake. CrossFit CEO Don Faul said they felt sad. They are working with authorities. The death happened at Marine Creek Lake in Fort Worth. The Tarrant County medical examiner identified the athlete. His name was Lazar Dukic. He was 28 years old and from Serbia. They have not listed his cause of death yet.
The Fort Worth Fire Department got a call around 8 a.m. They came to help police. A participant in the water had gone missing. The officers at the event heard about it. The person was last seen in the water and did not resurface.
The fire department came for search and rescue. They were not there when the first call came.
Faul said CrossFit had a safety plan. They had safety staff at the event. CrossFit did not give more details to the Associated Press.
The event on Thursday had a 3.5-mile run. After that, there was an 800-meter swim. About 10,000 people were at the games. The games started Thursday and were to end Sunday.
Lazar Dukic played water polo. He was an ambassador for FITAID, a sports drink brand. Gijs Spaans, FITAID’s Europe manager, knew Lazar Dukic for three years. He said Dukic was driven and lit up a room.
Spaans Notices Lazar Dukic Missing During Livestreamed Swim Event
Lazar Dukic had a great work ethic. He also made time for people. Spaans called him a really good person.
Spaans watched a livestream of the swim. He was far from the event. He looked for Dukic among the swimmers. Then he noticed Dukic was missing.
Spaans thought Dukic would finish. He wondered why Dukic’s name was not in the results. Dukic was in the top five during the race. Spaans saw other people finish, but not Dukic.
Lazar Dukic was a great swimmer. Spaans said he was in it to win it.
The CrossFit Games started in 2007. Their mission is to find the fittest athletes. The games change every year. Details come just before the event.
Faul said the CrossFit community is like a family. They are supporting the family and community during this sad time.
Dukic’s bio on the CrossFit website says he was the third-ranked CrossFit athlete in Serbia. He was 88th-ranked worldwide. He finished ninth in his first games in 2021, eighth the next year, and ninth in 2023.
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