Luka, the brother of Lazar Dukic, who died in Crossfit competitions, harshly criticized the organizers of the Crossfit Games.
At the beginning of August, the unofficial crossfit World Championships, i.e. the CrossFit Games, were interrupted in a shocking way, when the Serbian Lazar Dukic died during the swimming portion of the race.
Among the competitors, a heated discussion arose as to how the organizers did not notice 28-year-old Dukic’s life-threatening condition. It was also surprising that the organizers decided to continue the competition after Dukic’s memorial service.
The Serbian athlete’s brother also participated in the competition Luka Dukicwhich has now published on Instagram his own, long position about what happened.
Dukic makes strong claims against the organizers of the event. He highlights in particular Dave Castroknown as the founder of the Crossfit Games.
As one example, Dukic writes about the situation in the goal area. When he reached the finish line, he was surprised that the Lazar brother, known as a better swimmer, was nowhere to be seen. Dukic found Castro in his hands.
– He was number 27, wasn’t he? I heard he crossed the finish line, Castro had replied.
Only later did it become clear that the information was incorrect, and the search was delayed.
On the same day, Lazar’s body was found in Marine Creek Lake, but despite the tragic event, they wanted to continue the races. According to Dukic, Castro wanted to meet in a hotel room and justified the continuation of the races as a tribute to Lazar.
– I don’t think I’m thinking clearly at the moment, so it shouldn’t be my decision, Dukic had said.
– It’s not up to you anyway, Castro had stated.
However, in the end, the organizers presented the decision publicly as “the wish of the family”.
Dukic says that he watched the events of the competition afterwards on video. According to him, no one tried to save the drowning Lazar, and the volunteers who were moving around on SUP boards next to him did not notice him.
A few days after the competition, several crossfit competitors criticized the organizers’ indifferent attitude to the tragic event. Athletes have called for transparency in the investigation into Lazar’s death and called for Dave Castro’s resignation.