The start of 2024 brought about feelings of hope and excitement as the CrossFit Games headed to a new home in Fort Worth, TX. That joy soon turned to tumult after beloved Serbian athlete Lazar Ðukić died during Event 1 on the first day of competition.
The fallout and sadness from that horrible accident set the tone for the sport for the remainder of the year as athletes and fans tried to figure out how to move forward.
- The tragic loss of Lazar Ðukić is by far the biggest and most influential moment in the sport’s history.
Several notable moments from this past year are worth remembering, so as we prepare to flip the calendar, we wanted to highlight them.
Brent Fikowski Retires
Canadian Fikowski is one of the sport’s most decorated athletes. In November, he announced that he would retire after 12 years.
His last competition was the 2024 Rogue Invitational in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he finished second behind fellow Canadian Jeffrey Adler.
- The athlete, best known as “The Professor,” is an icon of the sport and an athlete many in the community look up to for his professionalism and meticulous approach to workouts and training.
Fikowski plans to turn his attention to the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA), where he will serve as President. One of his goals is to help CrossFit evolve into a more professional sport and build an organization that is made to protect the athletes.
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr Returns, Wins Seventh CrossFit Games
This year’s CrossFit Games did not go as expected, and the athletes faced the difficult choice of either withdrawing from the competition or continuing.
Toomey-Orr chose to stay and compete the rest of the weekend alongside the best athletes in the world, and she came out on top for a record-breaking seventh time.
- Toomey-Orr is the first person to achieve seven CrossFit Games champion titles and one of the most dominant athletes in the sport. She sat out of the 2023 Games because she was pregnant and gave birth to her daughter, Willow, last May.
Toomey-Orr has not signaled she is retiring and continued to dominate in her off-season. She won the Rogue Invitational by a small margin against one of her fiercest competitors, Laura Horvath.
Young Gun, James Sprague, Emerges Victorious in Texas
Several of the elite individual and team athletes chose not to continue competing at the Games after the tragic death of Ðukić. Despite the uneasy and difficult choice, Sprague kept going, winning the 2024 CrossFit Games.
- Sprague told Morning Chalk Up’s Emily Beers in an interview that the traditional celebration didn’t feel quite right. The excitement and joy weren’t the same, given the tragedy on day one.
Nonetheless, the 22-year-old worked hard for what he’s accomplished, going from an overweight teenager to an elite individual in only a handful of years.
Luka Ðukić Competes, and Wins, at Dubai
Luka, the younger brother of Lazar Ðukić, also competed at the CrossFit Games but left the competition after experiencing one of the worst moments of his life.
Luka kept mostly quiet the weeks after he lost his brother but popped up on his social media to share photos and memories and provide important information surrounding the events of day one at the Games.
Luka shared that he’d compete in the 2024 Dubai Fitness Championship.
- In an Instagram post, Luka shared that he approached the well-known coach and founder of The Progrm, John Singleton, to help him prepare for Dubai. He was unsure if he could do it or prepare in time but planned to compete.
Luka won the 2024 Dubai Fitness Championship, which, as he shared on Instagram, was especially meaningful because it was his and his brother’s favorite competition. We look forward to seeing him at TYR WZA Miami Beach in January 2025.
TYR Wodapalooza SoCal, Year 1
Well before the Games, Loud and Live Sports announced a second West Coast competition called TYR Wodapalooza SoCal.
The September competition, held in Huntington Beach, CA, provided a new way for elite athletes to compete through the TYR Cup.
- The TYR Cup featured two teams, North America vs. World, with four men and four women per team. Notable athletes, such as Danielle Brandon and Arielle Loewen, Patrick Vellner, and Gui Malheiros, competed.
The event came shortly after the Games and seemed to give athletes and fans something to look forward to amidst the grief and sadness brought on by Lazar’s death.
By all accounts, the inaugural event went well. We’re a few weeks away from the original TYR Wodapalooza in Miami, FL.
One Last Thing
While it’s clear that 2024 didn’t go as planned for the sport, several remarkable moments were worth celebrating.
If there is any bright spot from last year, it’s that the CrossFit community is strong. While it feels fractured in many ways, a new year and season can provide new opportunities for unity and (community) fitness.
Featured image: Flo Papos, @flopapos / Instagram
