An athlete drowned during a swimming event at a CrossFit competition in Texas on Thursday, the organization said.

An athlete drowned during a swimming event at a CrossFit competition in Texas on Thursday, the organization said.

The death occurred on the first day of the CrossFit Games, being held in Fort Worth through Sunday. The events have been canceled for the rest of the day, CrossFit said.

Lazar Dukic, 28, of Serbia, was identified as the deceased swimmer, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner.

The Fort Worth Fire Department responds t…Show more
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CrossFit CEO Don Faul said during a press briefing he is “gutted” by the death of Dukic.

“We’ll continue to be focused on our community and the family through this tragic set of circumstances,” Faul said during a press briefing midday Thursday.

The incident occurred Thursday morning in Marine Creek Lake. The Fort Worth Fire Department responded around 8 a.m. local time to a call regarding a CrossFit Games participant who went missing in the water, authorities said.

First responders used dive teams and a drone to find Dukic, who was recovered from the water about an hour after the dive team response, authorities said.

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The body of the athlete was then transferred to the Tarrant County medical examiner.

“There’s a lot of people in the community that are hurting right now, that are really sad, that knew the athlete well, that loved, respected this person,” Faul said. “A lot of people are in mourning.”

Dukic was competing in his fourth CrossFit Games, along with his brother, Luka Dukic. He placed ninth in his first CrossFit Games in 2021, then eighth and ninth again the following two years.