Tragedy at CrossFit Games: Decorated athlete Lazar Dukić drowns in Texas

The mysterious incident during the CrossFit Games in Texas has shaken the sports community. Lazar Dukić, a decorated CrossFit athlete, disappeared underwater during a live broadcast of the swimming segment of the competition.

The police found the body the next day in the waters of Marine Creek Lake in Fort Worth. Witnesses report that the Serbian athlete was seen about 100 metres before the end of the 800-metre swimming segment and did not resurface.

Video materials posted on social media show the man struggling to stay afloat, but at some point, he disappeared underwater. The "Daily Mail" reports a recording showing another person jumping into the water to save the athlete's life. The circumstances led the organisers to cancel the swimming event and ask the audience to leave the competition grounds.

Lazar Dukić, ranked 88th in the world and 3rd in Serbia in CrossFit, had been considered one of the biggest stars of the CrossFit Games for several years. Among his achievements was being a six-time Serbian champion. Luka Dukić, the athlete’s brother, also participates in CrossFit competitions but has not publicly commented on the situation.

An official statement was posted on The CrossFit Games profile on X, bidding farewell to the athlete and confirming his death.

Today is the saddest day in @CrossFithistory. We are shattered by the loss of Lazar Đukić along with the entire CrossFit community. Lazar was one of our sport’s most talented competitors, but he was much more than an athlete. He was a son, a brother, and a friend to practically everyone who knew him. Fiercely competitive, incurably joyful and uncommonly kind, Lazar was the sun of any room he was in. The loss of his light is inconceivablle - we read.

Lazar Dukić was 28 years old.