Serbia’s Lazar Dukic was found in the Marine Creek lake after he first disappeared during the swimming part of the opening event of the Games.
The CrossFit Games is the biggest annual competition in the crossfit sport, where the “fittest man and woman in the world” are sought. These are the sport’s unofficial World Championships, for which qualifying competitions are organized around the world.
A group of the world’s fittest crossfit athletes began their battle for the title of the world’s fittest individual on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. However, the race immediately took a terrible turn.
The organizers of the CrossFit Games announce that one competitor has died during the swimming leg of the opening event of the competition at Marine Creek Lake.
The dead athlete has been identified in American and international media as a 28-year-old Serbian to Lazar Dukicwhich belongs to the European tops of the sport. He was ranked 88th in the competition beforehand.
The CrossFit Games has not confirmed the identity of the dead athlete. However, local authorities have publicly identified the body as Dukic. His exact cause of death has not yet been revealed.
On the first day of the competition, Thursday, the opening race started at 7:00 a.m. local time. It started with a 3.5-mile (5,632-meter) run and an 800-meter swim. As the swimming part headed towards its conclusion and several dozen athletes had crossed the finish line, the race organizers noticed that Dukic had not left the water.
Because of Dukic’s disappearance, race organizers launched a search and rescue operation at 8 a.m., calling in the Fort Worth EMS. Dukic’s body was found and lifted from the water at ten in the morning.
The CrossFit Games have been suspended, but the games are expected to continue according to American media.
The competitions have seen swimming sections before, for the first time in 2011. The CrossFit Games have been organized since 2007.
Dukic’s younger brother Luka25, will also compete in this year’s Games.
Finnish Henrik Haapalainen is participating in the Games as the only Finnish representative. The 29-year-old Haapalainen belongs to the global elite of the sport and is currently ranked 20th.