The drowning of established CrossFit athlete Lazar Đukić was an avoidable tragedy

According to event organizers, the decision to proceed with the CrossFit games in Fort Worth was not finalized until late Thursday evening, hours after competitor Lazar Đukić drowned during the competition.

Thousands of people came to Fort Worth to compete and to watch these CrossFit games; after event directors conferred with some of the athletes, and Dukic’s family, the decision was made to keep going. This is an international event that while it’s certainly not the Olympics it does have a loyal following, and canceling this would have been difficult.

On Friday inside a nearly full Dickies Arena, the CrossFit athletes themselves convened on the floor of the venue to honor a man who should have been competing today. The death of Dukic should not have happened, and walking around Dickies Arena on Friday morning it was impossible to escape the sadness.

CrossFit CEO Don Faul called it the “saddest day in CrossFit history.”

“CrossFit’s paramount consideration is the safety of our community, and there are rigorous safety measures in place for each event,” Faul said in a statement. “CrossFit has initiated an investigation, which will include an independent third-party review of yesterday’s tragic event. We will share information as appropriate.”

People are nervous to say it because of the implications, but the drowning death of Đukić should not have happened.

Start with having the CrossFit Games in Texas in August. This is one of those decisions that needed more consideration. August is the hottest time of the year here, and doing anything too extreme now in this heat needs to be done with care.

The CrossFit Games had previously been held in Carson, Calif. and Madison, Wisc. before they moved it to Fort Worth. This is the first time in the 18-year history of the event it is in Texas. Fort Worth is a draw because of Dickies Arena, flying into DFW Airport is convenient, and it’s a major metro area.

But, August?

Then there is the decision to hold the swimming event after the running. In triathlons, the swim is always the first event. CrossFit is not a triathlon. CrossFit is a high intensity workout designed to push your bodies well beyond the norm.

Đukić was a 28-year-old from Serbia who was an accomplished CrossFit athlete. He looked like an athlete in peak physical shape. A former water polo player, he was not exactly a “drowning candidate.”

Television replays of the swimming event are chilling. You can see Đukić swimming at Marine Creek Lake, approaching the shore and the finish. Replays showed Đukić not swimming while his competitors continued around him.

CrossFit is not just some fly by night organization that holds events with little or no thought. CrossFit is an international brand that has been around for nearly 20 years, and it has protocols and procedures in case of emergency.

What happened on Thursday morning was simply human error. There were event personnel on site, with eyeballs pointed at the lake, just in case. Tragically, they missed it.

They missed it because it is hard to believe an athlete, and a swimmer, like Lazar Đukić is drowning. Drowning about 40 yards from shore.

“They had a medical team in place and we were alerted through our 9-1-1 system. We were not there prior to any of this happening,” Fort Worth Fire Department public information officer Craig Trojacek said in a phone interview on Friday.

The emergency call was made at 8 a.m. The second of the two divers found the body around 10:10 a.m.

Twenty four hours later, at 10:10 a.m. on Friday inside Dickies Arena, a picture of Đukić, probably taken from a CrossFit competition, was on the big screen. Other than the occasional toddler making a few noises, the arena was quiet.

The death of Đukić brought far more attention to a big niche event that was not prepared for the type of scrutiny that comes when there is a tragedy like this.

Both CrossFit and the CrossFit games will go on.

A medical report should yield some more details why a man in peak shape, who was an outstanding swimmer, could drown. An investigation by a third-party of this tragedy will reveal details that CrossFit may not want to share.

Because this was an avoidable tragedy, and Lazar Đukić should still be competing at the CrossFit games.