CrossFit Games drowning: Athlete drowns within Fort Worth lake during opening competition officials confirm.
Rachel Behrndts
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 an incident of drowning in the Fort Worth lake on Thursday in the morning of competition for the event that spans several days officials reported.
CrossFit officials at a press conference announced that the CrossFit athlete drowned during the swimming section of CrossFit Game’s inaugural event. The event took place in Marine Creek Lake, near the Tarrant County College Northwest campus.
Officials didn’t name the player who was killed.
The remainder of the CrossFit Games events have been cancelled for the duration of the day. Officials haven’t decided if they will reschedule the rest of the events that will continue to be played throughout over the next weekend. CrossFit Director Don Faul stated at the press 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 told.
It was reported that the CrossFit Games had a safety plan in place as well as security personnel were on site at the time of the event Faul explained. The full details of the way in which the event and the drowning incident unfolded will be a part of a review by law enforcement officials, Faul said.
It was reported that the Fort Worth Fire Department was alerted to the drowning call at around 8 a.m. The footage from the scene seemed to reveal Fort Worth Fire Rescue pulling a body out of the water at around 10:00 a.m. and putting it inside the 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, stated.
The location in which the incident took place was the location of an event for runners during the CrossFit Games, according to the schedule of the event. The event was free for spectators to view and was located far from Dickies Arena, the primary competition area located 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 stated.
Are the CrossFit Games Canceled?
It is unclear exactly when CrossFit Games will resume, all events were cancelled Thursday. The games are scheduled to stream via ESPN+ and several other platforms like Facebook, Twitch and YouTube. The livestreams abruptly stopped early on Thursday early in the morning. While livestreams scheduled for the day remained accessible on ESPN+, the ESPN+ platform, the 11 a.m. broadcast of the events did not show.
The Sevan Podcast, which covers the Crossfit Games, was livestreaming their reactions and comments on the event when they noticed that the swimming competition was cancelled.
“Which makes me think something bad happened, if they want everyone to leave” one of the podcasters stated.
The group began to play an audio message from the woman who was describing the situation.
“It looks like we have a serious issue on our hands,” the woman was heard saying.
The group was then notified of an email from a person who appeared to be at the scene. They were asked to shut down their live stream.
“Guys we’re going to have to end the stream,” one of the podcasters told. “It looks like something serious has happened.”
The top 40 males and women from seven competitions that qualify worldwide will participate in the CrossFit Games.
In the beginning, the first CrossFit Games event was held in 2007. It was the first time CrossFit has held its annual competition in Texas in contrast to its usual venue at Madison, Wisconsin. The CEO of CrossFit made the announcement in 2023, and pointed to the Dallas-Fort worth International Airport as an important factor behind the decision.
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. The challenges often aren’t apparent until athletes enter the arena for competition, say officials.