Fitness

A Suspected Drowning Has Occurred During The First Event of The CrossFit Games

Published

4 months ago

August 8, 2024

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A Suspected Drowning Has Occurred During The First Event of The CrossFit Games

Tragedy struck the first event of the 2024 CrossFit Games on Thursday as emergency responders were called to a suspected drowning during the run-swim event at Marine Creek Lake, Texas.

Events are still unfolding, but witnesses report that as the event – a 3.5-mile run followed by an 800m swim – came to a close, not all athletes were accounted for. Although no official statement has yet been made, the event was live streamed and various online sources have named the missing athlete as Serbian-born Lazar Đukić.

CrossFit Games athlete Cole Learn who was present during the incident took to social media to share his experience of the event, stating that he and other athletes were “yelling for lifeguards” after witnessing Đukić going under. Learn, visibly shaken, shared in the Instagram post that he didn’t see Đukić resurface.

American news outlet CBS, who were monitoring events from a helicopter above the reservoir, have since reported that a body has been pulled from the water.

Spectators have allegedly been asked to leave the competition grounds and further events have been cancelled.

Crossfit have since released a statement via the official Crossfit Games Instagram, and in collaboration with director of the Games, Dave Castro, stating:

“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.

We are fully cooperating with authorities and doing everything we can to support the family at this time.

The remainder of today’s events have been suspended. The well-being of competitors is our first priority and we are heartbroken by this tragic event.”

With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.

As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.

Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.

You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.