Moving Forward Together – Safety and Procedural Changes Following the 2024 CrossFit Games
The loss of Lazar Đukić has been devastating and weighs heavily on all of us. Lazar was not just a competitor; he was a beloved member of our community, a friend to many, and a model of perseverance and passion.
Investigation Process
In the immediate aftermath of the 2024 CrossFit Games in August, CrossFit engaged a third-party investigation team to investigate the facts surrounding Lazar’s death on Aug. 8, 2024, during Individual Event 1 (run/swim), and to provide recommendations to CrossFit to enhance athlete safety at future CrossFit events. We appreciate your patience as the investigation process has unfolded over the last several months — it was important that everybody who wanted to speak with the investigators had an opportunity to be heard.
As part of the investigation process, the investigation team conducted dozens of interviews with eyewitnesses and event staff from August through November, visited Marine Creek Lake for a thorough site visit, reviewed many documents related to the operations of the CrossFit Games, viewed hours of video footage taken during Event 1, and reviewed surrounding media coverage of the 2024 Games and prior CrossFit events. The investigators also reviewed industry standards and operating procedures relating to water safety at professional sporting events and interviewed external specialists on safety standards for open-water swims. It also interviewed experts who research and study medical issues for elite competitive athletes.
CrossFit is grateful to everyone who spoke with the investigators during this difficult time to provide witness accounts, critical evidence, and valuable insight. We are not publishing a full report based on privacy and legal considerations. The results of the investigation have been reported to our Board of Directors. Our focus now is to move forward with actions that maximize our continued commitment to safety at the CrossFit Games.
CrossFit’s Actions and Next Steps
We are sharing a summary of the changes we will implement going forward to uphold even higher safety standards at the CrossFit Games.
1. Supplementing the CrossFit Sport Leadership Team
CrossFit is creating a new senior leadership role responsible for safety at the CrossFit Games. This person will be responsible for centralizing safety protocols, creating safety and emergency action plans for the Games, overseeing pre-event rehearsals, and coordinating with on-site safety experts, staff, and athletes. This will also include assessing that each event has the required staffing, expertise, and resources on-site. This person will be responsible for supporting a culture where athletes, staff, and members of the community feel comfortable elevating safety concerns and have clear paths to do so.
This leader will report jointly to Dave Castro, who will continue to lead CrossFit’s Sport Organization, and to CrossFit CEO Don Faul. They will be expected to provide regular briefings on CrossFit’s safety plans and posture. We will hire for this role externally and begin the search immediately. We expect to have this role filled before the next CrossFit Games season.
2. Creating a CrossFit Games Safety Advisory Board
We are establishing a CrossFit Games Safety Advisory Board composed of medical professionals, independent safety experts, and athletes. This independent Advisory Board will meet regularly before and during events to assess risks, review safety protocols, provide feedback, and serve as an additional, independent escalation path for any athlete who has concerns related to safety. This Advisory Board will also have an in-person presence at future CrossFit Games in a support and advisory capacity.
CrossFit will recruit Advisory Board members with diverse expertise, including emergency responders and former athletes, to ensure comprehensive perspectives and oversight. CrossFit has started to build a slate of candidates and plans to communicate more details about the appointed Safety Advisory Board members by the end of this year.
3. Suspending Open-Water Swimming Events
We are continuing our suspension of open-water swimming at the CrossFit Games. If a future CrossFit Games includes a swimming component, it will take place in highly-controlled environments, such as pools, where safety teams can closely monitor every athlete.
4. Enhancing Pre-Event Rehearsals, Communications Protocols, and Emergency Resources
Beginning at the 2025 CrossFit Games, we will conduct additional on-site rehearsals for all event staff, safety personnel, and volunteers to test safety protocols and communications equipment.
Athletes are familiar with pre-event briefings before the Games, but going forward we will add a more robust, safety-specific section during these briefings. These briefings will ensure athletes are aware of the risks for each event, the safety protocols and personnel in place to mitigate them, and how to access assistance if they need it. In addition to the in-person briefing, safety measures and protocols will also be distributed in written form to all athletes with clear avenues to ask questions, voice concerns, and escalate issues related to safety.
CrossFit is fortunate to have an incredible community of volunteers and staff with deep expertise and experience, including emergency medicine, water safety and rescue, Military Special Operations, law enforcement, and over a decade of experience running CrossFit events. Moving forward, CrossFit will also ensure paramedic teams and ambulances are on-site at all events even if they are not legally required based on local ordinances and regulations.
5. Expanding Mental Health and Emotional Support Resources
We recognize athlete well-being extends beyond physical safety and feel it’s important to extend mental health resources to those who experienced this tragedy this summer. For the 2025 CrossFit Games season, we will integrate mental health professionals into our on-site medical teams. Mental health professionals will be readily available to assist athletes and staff experiencing emotional distress, whether they feel impacted by competition pressure, personal issues, or unforeseen emergencies.
6. Establishing a CrossFit Athlete Council
In addition to the CrossFit Games Safety Advisory Board, we will establish a broader Athlete Council to ensure athletes from the CrossFit community can share feedback and have greater influence on CrossFit’s protocols for competition, safety, broader athlete welfare, and the business of sport. Unlike prior CrossFit councils, this Athlete Council will be elected by fellow athletes and will represent athletes from all divisions of competition.
We look forward to opening this process up to our athletes to ensure we have representation chosen by the entire community. We’ll communicate additional details about the council soon and intend to have the first Athlete Council members chosen by early 2025.
In Closing
These changes reflect CrossFit's continued commitment to safety. We are confident these adjustments will enhance our ability to respond swiftly and effectively in any situation while fostering a safer environment for all athletes and event participants.
We look forward to the 2025 season and plan to communicate important details before the end of the week.