CrossFit LLC announced today that they have the results from a third-party investigation into the death of competitor Lazar Đukić during the swim portion of Event 1 at the 2024 CrossFit Games.
- While the results have been reported to CrossFit’s Board of Directors, the announcement today revealed that CrossFit will not publish a full report “based on privacy and legal considerations.”
Instead, CrossFit is focused on moving forward “with actions that maximize our continued commitment to safety at the CrossFit Games.”
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A Breakdown of CrossFit’s Plan Moving Forward
CrossFit revealed six actions it plans to take following last summer’s tragedy. Here’s what you need to know:
- Hire a New Senior Safety Leader: “This leader will report jointly to Dave Castro, who will continue to lead CrossFit’s Sport Organization, and to CrossFit’s CEO, Don Faul. They will be expected to provide regular briefings on CrossFit’s safety plans and posture,” CrossFit said in their post.
- Create a Safety Advisory Board: In addition to the above, CrossFit also intends to establish a CrossFit Games Safety Advisory Board that will be “composed of medical professionals, independent safety experts, and athletes.”
- Continue the Open-Water Swimming Event Suspension: “If a future CrossFit Games includes a swimming component, it will occur in a highly-controlled environment, such as a pool, where safety teams can closely monitor every athlete.”
- Enhance Pre-Event Rehearsals: Starting with next year’s Games, CrossFit will host on-site rehearsals for all event staff, safety personnel, and volunteers “to test safety protocols and communication equipment.”
- Expand Mental Health Support Resources: “We recognize that 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,” CrossFit said, adding that they’re committed to integrating mental health professionals into their on-site medical teams at the 2025 CrossFit Games.
- Establish a CrossFit Athlete Council: The Athlete Council will be elected by fellow athletes “to ensure that 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.”
CrossFit concluded: “We are confident that 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.”
3 Key Takeaways
1. Wait, So They’re Telling Us Nothing?
For four months, the entire CrossFit community has been waiting to hear the results of this third-party investigation into Đukić’s tragic death in August.
- Further, one of the demands the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA) made to CrossFit at the end of August was “an appropriate level of transparency between CrossFit and the PFAA regarding their third-party investigation as to the death of Lazar Đukić and subsequent changes made to protect all athletes going forward.”
The investigation is complete, and this announcement clearly states that we won’t be privy to the findings.
2. Dave Castro Is Here to Stay
A second demand the PFAA made of CrossFit was the removal of Dave Castro from CrossFit’s Sports Organization.
The fact that CrossFit will keep Castro on with no change to his position is a clear rebuke and a strong message to the PFAA and those in the community who supported it.
- It is likely an understatement to say that many in the CrossFit community — especially those who argued that Castro and other CrossFit leaders needed to be held responsible for Ðukić’s death and the events that took place after (including the decision to continue the Games) — will be disappointed by this announcement.
This announcement makes it clear that CrossFit leadership will move forward on a “business as usual” footing despite a prevailing notion that athletes and fans had lost faith in Castro’s ability and willingness to organize and execute a competition that holds athlete safety as paramount.
3. Another Athlete Council?
Why create another internal Athlete Council? Why not partner with the PFAA, an established organization that elected a new Athlete Board this week?
At least, those are surely the questions the PFAA and its supporters will be asking.
- Remind me: In August 2020, CrossFit created an “Athlete Advisory Council” to “get insight and input from athletes on the wide range of issues affecting the sport,” according to an Instagram post at the time.
The founding members of the 2020 Athlete Advisory Council included:
- Annie Thorisdottir
- Meredith Root
- Neal Maddox
- James Hobart
Then, in July 2022, CrossFit announced the creation of the “Division Athlete Committee” to expand the work of the Athlete Advisory Council to all competitive divisions in the sport.
- The original committee included 37 athletes, and although CrossFit never made the member list available, interested parties submitted hundreds of applications. These members were located worldwide and represented Individual, Team, Teen, Masters, and Adaptive athletes.
The Big Picture
It feels as though the sport side of CrossFit has been in a holding pattern since Đukić’s death in August, a holding pattern we assumed would come to a close after the investigation was complete.
In short, many athletes (and the PFAA) have been waiting for the investigation results and for CrossFit to announce big changes before making decisions about their next steps, including whether or not they will compete in the 2025 CrossFit Games season.
- Worth noting: CrossFit has hinted that it will reveal details of the 2025 CrossFit Games season structure on Friday.
Considering that there will be no additional announcements concerning investigation results and the fact that it seems Castro is here to stay, we can confidently say that the holding pattern has ended. The time to plot future actions has come. This is true on an individual level when deciding whether or not to compete in the Games season and on the community level when deciding whether or not to participate in the CrossFit Open and otherwise support future in-person events by buying tickets and spectating.
Our prediction: The 2025 CrossFit Games season will be far from normal. Then again, that’s kind of become the norm for the sport of CrossFit.
- CrossFit Community Looks to Athletes on Social Media, Aims to Connect With Đukić Family
- “He Was There, Then He Was Gone”: Former Lifeguard Gives Eyewitness Account of Lazar Đukić’s Death
- Inside the Decision to Continue the 2024 CrossFit Games Following Lazar Đukić’s Tragic Death
Credit: @known_knowable / Instagram
