The 2024 CrossFit games continued today despite a cataclysmic accident that resulted in the death of a competitor during the first day of the competition Thursday afternoon. Tragedy struck Fort Worth, Texas last night as Serbian CrossFit athlete Lazar Dukic drowned during an 800 meter swim at the end of the first day of the competition. Following his death, the games released an official statement on their X account <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/CrossFitGames/status/1821662179558297733'> </a></blockquote></div> Naturally, fans are exacerbated and angered by the news, especially considering the circumstances that surrounded it. Fans watching live both online and in person reportedly noticed Dukic struggling in the water well before he drowned, but the acting safety personnel apparently did not notice or were not concerned enough to act until it was too late. One report even states that a fan at the event tried to jump into the lake themselves, but was stopped by event staff. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/diverbuzz/status/1821563808936010131'> </a></blockquote></div> Following the accident, CrossFit CEO Don Faul defended the event, saying that the organization has a proper, well documented safety plan and procedures in place. He also noted that they are continuing to cooperate with local authorities. <q>«We have, for an event like this, a fully documented safety plan. We had safety personnel on-site for the event. All of the details around the process, the event, what unfolded today, that'll be a part of the details that we work on with authorities.»</q> While the remainder of Thursday's events were cancelled, the response from CrossFit is now under scrutiny as many expected that the remainder of the 2024 games would be cancelled, or rescheduled for a later date. However, that has not happened. According to CBS11, the games made the following statement after his death through an independent, 3rd party PR firm. <q>After careful thought and many conversations internally, with athletes, and with Lazar Đukić's family, it's been decided that the CrossFit Games will continue throughout the remainder of the weekend at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.</q> Truly, this is a shocking display of negligence and arrogance from CrossFit. It is unfathomable that they would go on with the games just a day after one of their top athletes passed away on the course, especially given the circumstances. Will the organization be able to recover from this? Only time will tell. Source: Menshealth <a href='https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a61828293/crossfit-suspends-games-athlete-death/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEje8tleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZoLV6ZeEDXw_eXmg4wAMkJtO6fgGGIYnl7fFOokNDC9sMcH5OVz6bfAOw_aem_G82qEeO715CVdUIEwbgwIQ' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>The CrossFit Games Are Suspended Following a Tragic Death</a>