CrossFit officials canceled the rest of the day’s events. Officials are not releasing the name of the athlete who drowned.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A CrossFit Games athlete died after a reported drowning in a Fort Worth lake on Thursday during the first day of competition in the multi-day event, officials said.
CrossFit officials in a news conference confirmed that a CrossFit athlete drowned in the swim portion of the CrossFit Game’s first event. The event was held at Marine Creek Lake, near the Tarrant County College Northwest campus.
Officials did not name the athlete who died.
The rest of the CrossFit Games events have been canceled for the day. Officials have not decided whether they will cancel the remainder of the games, which are scheduled to run through the weekend, CrossFit CEO Don Faul said at the news conference.
“CrossFit is deeply saddened by the death of one of our athletes in the swim portion of our event this morning … We are collaborating, we are working very closely with the authorities with the follow-up investigation,” Faul said.
The Fort Worth Fire Department was called to the drowning report around 8 a.m. Video from the scene appeared to show Fort Worth Fire Rescue pulling a body from the water around 10 a.m. and placing it in a bag.
“I know a lot of you have questions about who it was today… that information will not be released until the Tarrant County Medical Examiner has the opportunity to speak with the family and verify the athlete’s name and identity,” Leah Wagner, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Police Department, said.
The event where the incident occurred was the site of a run-swim event at the CrossFit Games, according to the event schedule. The run-swim was free for spectators to observe and miles away from the main competition space at Dickies Arena.
“There’s a lot of people in the community that are hurting right now, that are really sad, that knew the athlete well, that loved and respected this person and a lot of people are mourning,” Faul said.
The CrossFit Games are being streamed on ESPN+ and several other platforms including Facebook, Twitch and YouTube. All the livestreams abruptly ended Thursday morning. While scheduled livestreams remained on the ESPN+ platform, the 11 a.m. broadcast of events was not airing.
The Sevan Podcast, which covers the Crossfit Games, was livestreaming their reactions and commentary about the competition when they noted that the swimming event had been canceled.
“Which makes me think something bad happened, if they want everyone to leave” one of the podcasters said.
The group then began playing audio from a woman who was explaining the situation.
“It looks like we have a serious issue on our hands,” the woman could be heard saying.
The group then received a call from someone who was apparently at the scene and asked them to cut off their livestream.
“Guys we’re going to have to end the stream,” one of the podcasters said. “It looks like something serious has happened.”
The top 40 men and women from seven qualifying competitions worldwide will compete in the CrossFit games.
The first CrossFit Games event was held in 2007. This is the first year CrossFit has held its annual games in Texas as opposed to its typical location in Madison, Wisconsin. CrossFit’s CEO announced the move in 2023 and touted the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as a key driver of the move.
The competition will include team and individual events and the competition exercises will test athlete’s fitness in ten areas: Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. Often the challenges are unknown until the athletes step into the competition, officials say.
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