The brother of Lazar Đukić, the CrossFit competitor who died during the swimming portion of a competition in Texas, believes the tragedy could’ve been prevented as he broke his silence on Friday.
“You loved the sport that didn’t love you back,” Luka Đukić wrote on his Instagram story, above a black and white photo of a tribute to his brother.
The 28-year-old Serbian athlete vanished near the end of the 800-meter swim in Fort Worth’s Marine Creek Lake at the annual CrossFit games on Thursday.
His body was pulled out of the water two hours after the livestreamed event.
“No tribute will ever give you back to me,” the grieving brother said. “This is something that could have been prevented and there is no way of going around it.”
Luka Đukić posted a captionless, black-and-white photo of the two brothers hugging hours before the emotional statement.
“However, I have huge respect for every athlete no matter of how they decided to deal with this situation. If something, we knew what it takes to be on that floor,” the younger Đukić said.
One week before the annual event, Luka Đukić practiced the race route alongside his brother during their final preparations.
CrossFit CEO Don Faul said in a statement Friday to The Associated Press that safety is “of paramount concern” and officials have “rigorous protocols in place for each event at the CrossFit Games.”
He added that the organization has initiated an investigation into Dukic’s death, which will include “an independent third-party review.”
The previous day Faul said at a news conference that safety personnel were on site at the swimming event, but he did not provide additional details.
CrossFit did not immediately detail its safety plan.
One spectator at the event said she saw people, who she believed were lifeguards sitting on paddle boards in the water where the competitors were swimming by.
“Gauging where the people on the paddle boards were and everything, it’s just that he should have been reachable,” Kaitlin Pritchard told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The 25-year-old brother shared that he might talk about the tragic death in the future but “for now, this is everything I will share on this matter.”
“My brother, you touched more lives than you know and you will live forever,” he added.
CrossFit called Đukić’s death “the saddest day” in the organization’s 24-year history, but sparked outrage for continuing the three-day competition.
“We are shattered by the loss of Lazar Đukić along with the entire CrossFit community,” the organization wrote in a tribute posted late Thursday night,
“Lazar was one of our sport’s most talented competitors, but he was much more than an athlete. He was a son, a brother, and a friend to practically everyone who knew him.”
“The loss of his light is inconceivable,” the tribute added. “The first instinct is to shut down. To isolate. To mourn.”
“But the only cure for grief is to grieve. And the best way to grieve is together. In our community, coming together to do hard things is how we pay tribute. In this spirit, we have decided to move forward with the 2024 CrossFit Games.
“This weekend is dedicated to Lazar Đukić.”
Before day 2 action commenced Friday morning, a moment of silence was held for Lazar inside Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
The competitors, wearing black CrossFit branded apparel, walked out onto the arena floor during the tribute as a photo of Đukić hung above on the video board.
“His competitive spirit, uncommon kindness and joyful presence will be deeply missed by all who knew him,” the public address announcer said.
Some CrossFit athletes were visibly emotional during the 20 seconds of silence.