Who is Lazar Đukić? What we know about the CrossFit Games athlete who drowned in Fort Worth lake
FORT WORTH, Texas — On the first day of the CrossFit Games in Fort Worth, Texas, tragedy struck.
At Marine Creek Lake, the site of a run-and-swim event, a body was recovered at approximately 10 a.m. Thursday morning after the Fort Worth Fire Department responded to a drowning call at the location.
The body crews recovered was identified by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner as Lazar Đukić, a 28-year-old from Serbia.
The event was streamed on ESPN+ and several other platforms including Facebook, Twitch and YouTube. All the livestreams abruptly ended Thursday morning.
The Sevan Podcast, which covers the CrossFit Games, was livestreaming their reactions and commentary about the competition when they noted that the swimming event had been canceled.
“Which makes me think something bad happened, if they want everyone to leave” one of the podcasters said.
The group then began playing audio from a woman who was explaining the situation.
“It looks like we have a serious issue on our hands,” the woman could be heard saying.
The group then received a call from someone who was apparently at the scene and asked them to cut off their livestream.
“Guys we’re going to have to end the stream,” one of the podcasters said. “It looks like something serious has happened.”
The first CrossFit Games event was held in 2007. This is the first year CrossFit has held its annual games in Texas as opposed to its typical location in Madison, Wisconsin.
Who is Lazar Đukić?
Đukić was a four-time CrossFit Games athlete, according to his Instagram page, and the 2024 Europe Semifinal champion. He was the first individual athlete to win three consecutive Semifinals. He was ranked 88th worldwide in the male category, 33rd in Europe and 3rd in Serbia.
In a video posted the day before his passing, Đukić said his goal was to podium at this CrossFit Games. He and his brother, Luka Đukić, were at the CrossFit Games competing together.
What was the cause of death of CrossFit athlete Lazar Dukic?
The death of Lazar Dukic came as a huge shock to the sporting world.
Lazar Dukic went missing in the water during the swimming event at the 2024 CrossFit Games, with his body discovered soon after.
Having led the race with only a short distance left to go in the water, the Serbian did not cross the finish line and footage was captured that seemed to show him struggling in Marine Creek Lake. After informing the CrossFit Games’ organisers when Dukic failed to emerge from the water, the Fort Worth Fire Department were called in, after which his body was recovered.
“CrossFit is deeply saddened by the death of one of our athletes in the swim portion of our event this morning,” said CrossFit CEO Don Faul. “We are collaborating, we are working very closely with the authorities with the follow-up investigation”.
How did Lazar Dukic die?
At the time of writing, a cause of death has not been given by the medical examiners’ report.
However, local media outlet Fort Worth Star Telegram reported that “in a review of triathletes who died or experienced cardiac arrest while competing, researchers found that about two out of every three deaths occurred during the swimming portion of the triathlon”,
while adding that “open-water swim events can also unmask previously undiagnosed heart conditions”.
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