Swimmer drowns on horror livestream

A CrossFit swimmer has drowned in the middle of race with other swimmers all around him while being recorded on a livestream.

An athlete has drowned during a US CrossFit competition – yet while his death was seemingly livestreamed and happened in front of scores of spectators, staff and swimmers, no one seemed to initially notice.

It then took hours to find the man’s body.

Lazar Đukić, 28, reportedly vanished near the end of a live-streamed 800-metre swim at the CrossFit Games in Fort Worth’s Marine Creek Lake, near Dallas, around 8am on Thursday, local time.

The Fort Worth Fire Department told AP it was called to assist police because there “was a participant in the water that was down and hadn’t been seen in some point in time”.

Emergency services pulled a body from the lake about two hours later, The New York Post reported.

A spectator said “people were still swimming over him where he went down”.

A still from the livestream of the CrossFit event in Texas. Picture: Twitter.

Mr Đukić vanished during the swimming portion of the individual run swim, which started with a 3.5-mile run followed by the 800-metre swim.

The CrossFit Games is billed as being for the “fittest on Earth” and includes competitors from 33 countries.

The organisers confirmed that an athlete had died in a statement on Thursday afternoon, local time.

“CrossFit is deeply saddened by the death of a CrossFit Games competitor during the swimming portion of Individual Event 1 at the 2024 CrossFit Games,” the statement read.

“We are fully co-operating with authorities and doing everything we can to support the family at this time.”

The rest of the day’s events were suspended, Barbell Sports announced.

Lazar Đukić, 28, is reported to have died. Picture: GoFundMe.

People were ‘swimming over him’

A livestream for the event showed the swimmers powering across the lake. In the background of some of the footage a competitor can be seen initially swimming. But then he stops and appears to bob up and down. It is not clear if this is the victim.

Other swimmers leave the water and officials look on at them seemingly oblivious to a man drowning.

Spectator Kaitlin Pritchard told the Fort Worth Star Telegram she did see Mr Đukić in the first group of swimmers to near the finishing line.

She said it looked like he was changing up his swim patterns, which she had seen from several swimmers, and she assumed they were all tired from the run they had just done.

“It’s all hindsight now because you didn’t know what was going on at the time,” Ms Pritchard said.

“There wasn’t that immediate notification of, oh, someone was missing. I mean, people were still swimming over him where he went down.”

Ms Pritchard added there appeared to be lifeguards on paddle boards but none she noticed tried to rescue anyone.

CrossFit has been criticised online for scheduling a swim after an arduous run. Questions have been raised about how many safety staff were at the event and positioned in the lake itself.

hailed from Serbia. Picture: Instagram.

‘Caring and humorous'

Mr Đukić who was from Serbia, has been remembered as a “beloved friend and elite athlete”.

A GoFundMe fundraising page has been set up by one of Mr Đukić sponsors drinks brand Fitaid, to “support his loved ones during this time”.

It has already raised $215,000 of $228,000 goal.

“Known for his kindness, humour, and supportive nature, Lazar brought a breath of fresh air wherever he went,” state the page.

“Beyond his athletic achievements, Lazar was caring, humorous and relentlessly supported those around him. His warm, supportive nature and quick wit left a lasting impression on everyone he met.”

He leaves behind a girlfriend.

Mr Đukić, had competed in the CrossFit Games for several years.

He was ranked third in Serbia, and 88th in the world in the male category.

The athlete teased his appearance at the event on his Instagram in the days leading up to the event. Late on Wednesday night, he encouraged his fans to tune into the individual run swim.

Photos and videos shared on the CrossFit Games’ Instagram showed hundreds of athletes warming up before sunrise on Thursday.

Seven firefighter units responded to a possible drowning call at the lake shore around 8am, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

With The New York Post.

Originally published as Swimmer drowns on horror livestream