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An athlete drowned while competing in a swimming event in Texas that was part of the 2024 CrossFit Games on Thursday.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as Lazar Đukić, a 28-year-old athlete from Serbia, WFAA reported.
The incident happened during the first event of the games, called "Lake Day," which included a 3.5-mile run followed by an 800-meter, or half-mile, swim.
Đukić went missing around 8 a.m. during the event's swimming portion. He appeared to be struggling, according to witness reports.
Cole Learn, a competitor from Ontario, Canada, told WFAA that he saw the athlete doing small turns in the water, trying to stay afloat before going under.
"It was at that time we started screaming to the lifeguard he needed help and in a few seconds he was under, he never came back up," he said.
The Fort Worth Fire Department and Fort Worth Police Department were called to the Marine Creek Reservoir around 8 a.m. local time, CBS News reported.
A dive team and drones helped officials locate the body about an hour later, according to the fire department's spokesperson, Craig Trojacek.
The remaining events of the day have been canceled. "We'll continue to be focused on our community and the family through this tragic set of circumstances," CrossFit CEO Don Faul said during a press briefing.
Fire department personnel weren't at the lake initially, but Faul said other safety personnel were present during the event, according to ABC News.
Law enforcement is investigating the event's plans and the circumstances surrounding the drowning, Faul told WFAA News.
"I'm not too sure where the CrossFit Games is going to go from here, but they're going to have to make some drastic measurements to make sure that this never happens again," Learn said.
The competition's rules state that athletes must sign a waiver. These race waivers are common and help protect race directors and sponsors, not competitors. Basically, if a competitor is injured, dies, or has something stolen, the waiver protects the directors and sponsors from being sued.
Other athletes have struggled during similar CrossFit competitions.
CrossFit athlete Mat Fraser had a close call in 2017, endurance coach Chris Hinshaw said in 2021 on the podcast Mark Bell's Power Project.
"Fraser almost drowned one year in the Games," he said. Another athlete, Brent Fikowski, helped save him, according to Men's Health.
That same year, Will Powell had difficulty during a 500-meter swim in Wisconsin. Two other athletes, Robert Caslin and Gus VanDerVoort, kept him from slipping under the water, WFAA reported.
The Tarrant Regional Water District website describes Marine Creek Lake as calm, "ideal for swimming, kayaking," and other water sports.
