Sadness has clouded the 2024 World CrossFit Games – where Kelowna's Brent Filowski is currently ranked second – after the death of a competitor, said the event organizers.
Serbian athlete Lazar Dukic died during the swimming portion of Individual Event One of the games on August 8, confirmed CrossFit in a statement on social media.
An official with the Texas Fort Worth Fire Department said they were called out around 8 a.m. to assist police after a "participant in the water was down and hadn’t been seen at some point in time.”
CrossFit CEO Don Faul said CrossFit had a safety plan and did have safety personnel on-site at the event.
The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office identified the deceased athlete as 28-year-old Dukic of Serbia but has not yet released the cause of death.
The day's remaining scheduled events were suspended after the incident, but competition will resume on August 9.
"The best way to grieve is together. In our community coming together to do hard things is how we pay tribute," said CrossFit.
Filowski is competing in his ninth CrossFit Games competition.
