Australian athletes express safety concerns after Lazar Dukic’s death at 2024 CrossFit Games

go through Keeley Johnson of ABC

Members of the Australian CrossFit community say they are devastated by the death of a competitor at an event at the US CrossFit Games, with athletes questioning the safety of the competition.

Lazar Dukic, a 28-year-old Serbian athlete, died during the competition, which brought together 40 top athletes from around the world to determine what organizers called the “fittest men and women on the planet.”

The participants had just completed a 5km run and were in the middle of an 800m open water swim when the tragedy occurred.

In a live feed of the incident, Dukic could be seen struggling to swim before disappearing underwater, even though a lifeguard appeared to be just metres away.

A dive team was called in and Dukic’s body was subsequently pulled from the water.

The rest of the first day of competition was cancelled, but play resumed the following day.

In a moving tribute at the Games, organizers remembered Dukic, calling him an “outstanding athlete, brother, son, partner and friend.”

Communities devastated

News of Dukic’s death sent shockwaves through the CrossFit community, with hundreds of athletes and fans posting tributes to Dukic and his family on social media.

In Australia, Tom Woodham, 22, a CrossFit coach on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, told Triple J Hack that the news came as a shock to those in the gym.

He told Hack: “I think a lot of people are thinking ‘How could this happen?'”

“Everyone is feeling disappointed, sad and devastated.”

He said it also made him question his safety during the game.

“It did make me think for a moment, ‘If they don’t care about the top 40 (athletes), why would they care about me’?”

CrossFit is a branded fitness program that incorporates different types of exercises, including interval training, weightlifting, and gymnastics.

Organizers of the CrossFit Games were widely criticized online this week for their handling of the incident and their decision to go ahead with the Games.

The organization said in a statement on social media that the decision to go ahead was made after consulting with Dukic’s family.

“After careful consideration and numerous conversations internally, with athletes, and with Lazar Dukic’s family, we have decided that the CrossFit Games will proceed for the remainder of this weekend,” the statement read.

Competitors question safety

Following the incident, CrossFit CEO Don Faul released a video statement saying the organization had brought in a third party to investigate.

“We have to understand what happened and do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

“Ensuring the safety of our athletes is our most important responsibility and this tragedy happened right under our noses.”

Nine-time CrossFit Games competitor Brent Fikowski expressed his concerns on social media.

“When they said ‘safety is our top priority’ I didn’t believe it was true for a long time,” he wrote in the post.

“I believe their priority has always been their subjective definition of ‘testing.'”

According to the CrossFit website, the Games are “renowned around the world as the definitive test of physical fitness.”

The website also states that athletes will be tested in a variety of unannounced events, such as long-distance swimming, obstacle courses, handstand walking and carrying strange objects, and that competitors must “train for the unknown.”

Fikowski said in the post that athletes were asking how organizers would handle the high temperatures on the eve of the Olympics in Texas.

He said these questions have remained mostly unanswered.

Leaving the CrossFit Brand

A Sydney gym formerly known as CrossFit Botany has stopped using the brand.

According to social media posts this week, Dukic is an ambassador for the gym and is considered by management to be “one of our closest friends.”

The company said in a statement that continuing to launch these games was not the right way to grow, which influenced their decision.

“We will continue to encourage approaches that have already transformed the lives of millions of people around the world,” the statement said.

“However, we would no longer be in keeping with the purpose of CrossFit by doing so.”

The gym was rebranded this week and no longer includes “CrossFit” in its name.

Experts say death is a ‘rare event’

Kim Way, an exercise physiologist at the Institute of Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University in Melbourne, told Triple J Hack that it’s not common for athletes to die at sporting events.

“The main point we want to stress here is that this is a very rare event, especially in young people,” she told Harker.

“Lazar was in training at the time… which actually puts him at much lower risk… but unfortunately the leading cause of these sudden deaths in young people is genetic heart disease, and many don’t show any signs or symptoms.”

Dukic’s death remains under investigation.

Dr. Way also said CrossFit as a sport is a great way to get exercise, but people should be aware of their limitations.

“We have to remember that everyone’s abilities, exercise history and medical history are different,” she said.

“So (we need to) make sure the level of workouts is what the people who want to come to the CrossFit gym want.

“Most gyms do a pretty good job of that.”

– ABC