Anyone following this story from the Crossfit Games? Terrible.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/crossfit-games-athlete-drowns-in-texas-lake-during-swimming-portion-of-competition/ar-AA1otx8c?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Yeah, heard about it. Swimming as a part of an intense fitness competition can be risky. Iron man and triathlon athletes have similar risks. I'm not sure how to mitigate other than very aggressive deployment of life guarding. Someone passes out in the water, they can be gone in an instant.

They had the swim first which is the best risk mitigation as theoretically the competitors will be fresh and least at risk for cramps or exhaustion.

Actually I think they ran like 3.5 then swam. On one of the hottest mornings in Texas. It was already in the 80's when we left the gym around 5:45 this morning. I think they started around 7.

Yes, they ran first.

It definitely seems that there was not enough lifeguards. There are witnesses that saw him go under about 150 meters from the finish line and called for lifeguards, someone from the crowd even went into the water to try to help.

You have to have the swim first. To have worn out athletes swim second is ridiculous (no matter how good of shape) the swim needs to be done when you're fresh. Triathlon is swim first for a reason. Big oversight in my opinion by the CrossFit org.
Also… when the hell did CrossFit swim… I get it "all around athletes". But swimming is not done in a gym, that leg shouldn't have even been an option.

They have had a swim event at almost every Crossfit Games.

pretty sure swim has always been part of crossfit games. at least part of it. i don't know that much about it, but i remember seeing videos years ago with a swim portion.

This is basically my neighborhood lake. I saw them all early this morning when I left for work. I didn't even know this event was happening but I did wonder about the ESPN vans that I saw parked along 10 mile bridge.

Can't believe they chose this tiny lake (reservoir, really) in Fort Worth in August for this event. I read that they do this event all over the world. Very unfortunate and sad event and his drowning was unfortunately captured on the live ESPN video. Definitely not a good look for the lifeguards on the paddle boards that don't look like they were doing much of anything, and they were both not far away at all it appeared.

For so many people on the shore to have noticed he was in distress and the rescue team appeared to do nothing AND no one stopping the event immediately to begin rescue efforts is horrible.

CrossFit has a habit of changing things up to try and surprise athletes, but in doing so they ignore some of the safeguards put in place by the disciplines they borrow from. "Triathlons do the swim before the run, but let's do it AFTER the run, just to see if anyone prepared for that."

USA Swimming doesn't recommend open water swims in water temperatures north of 80-85 degrees, they breached that (the water was said to be 90 degrees). The swimmers wore bright swim caps but many removed them during the course of the swim without resistance from race officials. The athlete who drowned removed his cap, likely because he was overheating or cramping up, with no attention from lifeguards. The paddleboarders closest to the athlete did not have lifesaving rings or buoys to throw to him, presumably the lifeguard would have had to jump in the water themselves and try to save a drowning victim who is 100% muscle and 180-200 pounds, it would've probably just created two victims.

Dave Castro is a creative guy but he needs someone to sanity check his workouts. He nearly killed people in 2014 and 2015.

Jumping in water already at max heart rate is NOT something I would ever want to do.

I did a sprint tri two weekends ago and had to pause my swim just 200 yards in. Murky water, foggy goggles, over cast sky, I was completely lost and disoriented. My HR was already elevated. Had to tread water, rise my goggles and find myself again to advance. I cannot imagine dealing with those nuisanced stresses with my HR already maxed out and fatigue built up.

Temps were 80 at the start and heated up to 82 during the event.

Twitter person saying the water was 90. Someone that tested the event said the water was 78-80 degrees. And he's from Serbia, these temps weren't an issue for him.

The dude that died played water polo for 10+
Years. Was a lifeguard. Known as a great swimmer.

It appears to have been a cardiac event if I had to guess. He had a cardiac arrest in Dubai at an event previously.

These are elite athletes. Not just a triathlete.

All that being said, the travesty is that he went under and none realized it.

Woods Ag said:

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These are elite athletes. Not just a triathlete.

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not really trying to start a big debate or crap on crossfit people, but just because they are "elite" crossfit athletes doesn't mean they are necessarily great swimmers. A lot of those "just a triathlete" types are much stronger swimmers, and i'm not even talking about professional triathletes.

That said, if this was a cardiac event, it really doesn't matter how strong he was in the water.

Yes but read above about the type of swimmer he was.

He didn't learn to swim to compete in CrossFit. He IS a swimmer and a damn good one and became a cross fitter.

Did you watch the video? It had a fairly classic appearance of a drowning from fatigue. He attempted multiple times to try to start swimming again, but was unable to keep going.

Open water swimming can be dangerous regardless of skill level. Even moreso when you are jumping into the water with your heart rate already at 180-190. The stupidity of doing an open water swim in the middle of a Texas summer without adequate number of volunteers AFTER a 3.5 mile run is astronomically stupid. It's negligence bordering on criminal (although obviously no one is going to see jail time).

Yep. Watched it live and all the videos since. Im not a drowning expert. I just have a hard time believing a life long water polo player wasn't able to flip over and float or tread water. Could be wrong.

He was also out front of most. Probably 4th-5th of the men and just behind Tia who was 1st in the women. So there were about 74 athletes he was ahead of.

His heart rate was definitely elevated but I keep seeing "entering water at max heart rate"
None of these people were entering the water at max heart rate. I watched one of them workout at an intensity level that would kill all of us and their max heart rate was 180. Average was 145 I think.

He had a heart event in Dubai. We'll all know soon enough, but I would guess he had an issue with his heart.

The astronomically stupid *****. I don't subscribe to. This is a test to find the fittest in the world. It may not be for your.. that's ok. But this event and harder swim events have been completed without issue for a decade at the CrossFit games. "Texas Heat" - it was 7:30 in the morning and 81 degrees. In Utah I used to run a 9mile trail with a 20lb vest and no water and it was 100+ regularly. I'm no where near their physical fitness levels. I grew up in the Texas heat. 80 degrees… come on.

Meanwhile, there have been 9-10 swim deaths at triathlons this year. 23 deaths last year at triathalons during the swim.

**** happens. It's sad, but when pushing your limits sometimes bad things happen. The travesty is that no one saw him go under and came to his rescue. That's the issue. Not the programming of the event.

The number of deaths in tri's is about 1/100,000 participants. And that's for amateurs and frequently in individuals well past their athletic prime. To my knowledge, there has never been a death of a triathlete in a professional event.

And there is a reason that no professional triathlon does a reverse triathlon, and that's because it's dangerous to get in the water when already fatigued, even more so with open water. "Tired runners stop, tired swimmers die." And given he just ran a time trial 3.5 miler, his HR is almost definitely somewhere around 180. He's not gonna be in HR zone 2 on a time trial.

That's great that you subscribe to torturing yourself, but when you are putting on large athletic events, you have a responsibility for the safety of the athletes competing. Would anyone think less of their athleticism if they did the swim first or had more volunteers?

Woods Ag said:

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Yes but read above about the type of swimmer he was.

He didn't learn to swim to compete in CrossFit. He IS a swimmer and a damn good one and became a cross fitter.

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that's find in regards to him. however, re-read your comment. you were speaking in general about THESE being elite athletes, not just a triathlete. My response, outside of the last sentence, was responding in general to your comment.

I think more volunteers in the water is what was needed.

Crossfit is in a tough place. They are desperately trying to become profitable and cut costs and still put on this event that we all love. It's at the venue it is at as a cost cutting measure. Madison, WI was amazing! I would be camped out there right now if it were still there. But it was a huge venue and too costly from what I understand.

The obvious answer in hindsight is more safety personnel in the water. I can't believe those 2 paddle boarders are on each side of him and they didn't see him. I get it, too. They're probably huge fans and Tia is finishing right in front of them after beating all but 2-3 men and all women and the urge to be watching her would be great.

Woods Ag said:

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They're probably huge fans and Tia is finishing right in front of them after beating all but 2-3 men and all women and the urge to be watching her would be great.

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that's completely unacceptable, IMO. their job was to keep people safe, not sit on paddleboards being fanboys.

Maybe that's another reason to rethink the format and where the swim fits in to the event.

Of course it's unacceptable. But they're human after all. Do we know if they were volunteers as well? Most of the help at the Games is volunteers

Distractions happen to all of us when it's absolutely not acceptable. I'm not giving them a pass, they are largely to blame it would seem. I can't imagine the state of mind they're in.

Of course. Nobody wanted anyone to die. Hosting an athletic competition means you have to protect these athletes from themselves and make sure you give everyone a chance if something goes wrong. It appears that they did not take precautions requisite for an open water swim is all.

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The travesty is that no one saw him go under and came to his rescue. That's the issue. Not the programming of the event.

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The real travesty is that folks watched it happen and nobody acted fast enough. Supposedly a spectator tried to go in to save him and was held back by officials. For an 800m swim there should have been kayaks every 50 if not 25. While not programming that's 100% on officials. There will be lawsuits. Not so that it repays the family in any way. But so that if someone ever dies again in one of these things it will be in the hands of someone that pulled him / her out while still alive, not by a dive team.

Can’t fathom being at this race and witnessing this man gasping for air & his body going missing

How in the world did nobody working the CrossFit Games not see this man drowning this close to the finish line???

What a fuckin horrific moment pic.twitter.com/B9kHzpWhcq

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) August 8, 2024

If you haven't seen it.. there's paddle boards in each side of him. It should have been covered. Justin Mederos' BIL dove in the water in the right of the screen. It was a safety failure and it appears the safety personnel were in position. People ****ed it up.

That Texas 82 is worse than the Utah 100. 98, late afternoon, shaded, is better than 82 at sunrise at the dewpoint (Houston). I don't think anybody has studied it yet, but y'all know what I mean. I think those heat index numbers apply to people sitting still, and there's a whole different dynamic for high intensity work.

Not sure what you were trying to prove with the no water part. Only the UIL could come up with something dumber than swimming after running, though.

Ragoo said:

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Jumping in water already at max heart rate is NOT something I would ever want to do.

I did a sprint tri two weekends ago and had to pause my swim just 200 yards in. Murky water, foggy goggles, over cast sky, I was completely lost and disoriented. My HR was already elevated. Had to tread water, rise my goggles and find myself again to advance. I cannot imagine dealing with those nuisanced stresses with my HR already maxed out and fatigue built up.

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That sounds terrifying. Besides not enjoying swimming, my biggest fear in open water is cramping. That fear would be 10x after running 3.5 miles in that heat. The calves and stomach and hammies would just be looking for a place to cramp.

Born and raised in Houston/Galveston. Worked my ass off in that heat every day of my life. Did CrossFit down there for 5+ years before moving off. Texas heat is far worse than Utah heat, I agree.

Maybe it was hot for some that arent used to
It. I'd believe it if he were from Washington or BC..

Criticize a lot. I have a hard time heat was an issue for a Serb.

Edit: doesn't matter. CrossFit got bought by private equity and they cut costs bc it's a profit making business now and they were running loose and Lazar paid the price with his life.

It sucks. There's going to be major changes and a really great thing is at risk of going away. Criticism is deserved but there are many that just want to watch it burn and I hate that.

As someone who does endurance events and trains in the texas heat, I can tell you that even if you are heat trained, it doesn't guarantee you will not have heat related issues. I only made it 45 miles out of a 100 last weekend at Angeles Crest 100 in California. Heat was "only mid 90s" and there was little humidity, but I still found myself puking and dehydrated, ultimately missing a time cutoff. I was well heat trained, but still ended up having issues. It can happen.

Of all people to struggle with it, it shouldn't have been Lazar, who was an experienced water polo player for 10+ years. Just like it shouldn't have been endurance beast Chris Spealler bonking during the Camp Pendleton run or fireman and accomplished swimmer Mikko Salo dropping out of the competition after a wave ruptured his eardrum during an ocean swim event. Freak stuff happens.

That said, we're talking about known risks for open water swims, organizers have to be prepared for them. Being prepared costs money. CFHQ had a duty of care for the athletes, and if they needed to cut down on some of the safety costs for budgetary reasons (as some have speculated) they shouldn't have done an open water swim in the first place.

I'm still in shock that the paddleboarders didn't have lifesaving rings/buoys to throw to him even if they had seen him.

95 and 82 are very different.

August 8th in Ft Worth was 82 degrees at 7:58 with 65% humidity. That's feels like 85 according to the calc.

Woods Ag said:

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95 and 82 are very different.

August 8th in Ft Worth was 82 degrees at 7:58 with 65% humidity. That's feels like 85 according to the calc.

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I wish somebody would study this, but an 82 temp with 100% humidity, which is fairly common in Houston, has a 94 real feel (heat index). I have gone for many early evening runs where the temp is higher than 94, but it is just way easier than the morning conditions. There's something extra nefarious about that warm wet blanket that forms on your skin during the first mile of humid conditions. The sun is at similar height in both conditions.

Woods Ag said:

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95 and 82 are very different.

August 8th in Ft Worth was 82 degrees at 7:58 with 65% humidity. That's feels like 85 according to the calc.

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You are missing or purposely ignoring my point. Heat is heat and can affect people differently at a lot of different temperature points, especially when exercising. Heat, cooling, intensity, hydration, etc all play a part.

To circle back on last weekend, I've gone farther and been in way hotter conditions and been fine. But still got hit last weekend.

I'm not missing it.

I guess I'm defensive because everyone is immediately assuming what happened. I think the only thing we can be sure of is there was a breakdown in safety procedures.

The rest - let's wait until we find out cause of death. His previous cardiac arrest or whatever is what gives me pause.

This is the weirdest case of defending CrossFit to the end as I've seen, and we've all seen a lot of it over the years.

Stuff happens. I'd never program a swim after a run, but it isn't impossible, just slightly more dangerous than in the opposite order. That being said, the setup wasn't that unsafe. The safety measures failed. They didn't see something obvious and react appropriately.

I personally think triathletes and distance swimmers should tow a small standardized hydrodynamic visibility bouy from a harness on their body. A short tether do it stays on the surface and away from their legs, doesn't help them float to swim, but maybe with a couple handles molded in as emergency flotation, long and narrow so it has minimal drag, but if standardized, affects everyone equally.

Make it detachable or easy to put on and off, and have each athlete wait a set time before starting and after finishing the swim for it to be put on and taken off so there is no uneven time loss for that. Everyone tows it so it is fair for all competitors. so simple, and probably rarely needs which is why it hasn't been done, but it could have helped here.

I had to swim 300-400m a couple of weeks ago in 88F water and 95F temps after a long day on the lake swimming and cliff jumping to retrieve a boat that floated off anchor, and that wasn't really particularly hard, and I am 48 and not a world class athlete. I think the pressure to go as fast as possible, however, does introduce a greater risk factor.

I'm as much of a personal responsibility guy as anyone but this is 99% on Crossfit. There's a difference b/t challenging/tough/difficult and stupid/careless/negligent. So much fail, again, by Crossfit. Everyone involved in planning this event should be fired, at minimum.