@@RogueCylon We are gonna charge spectators 200-300 dollars for tickets per day? and put the lives of many athletes in the hands of a few volunteers? Shouldn't their safety have been in the hands of professionals? Makes sense right?
Pure negligence. No divers, n9 paramedics, no professional support staff. When he took his cap off, the should have checked him. He was changing strokes when he’s a professional freestyler. He had zero support, died in distress with no help. The warning signs were there for a good five minutes and ignored.
Having them swim right after a run, especially in high temperatures, is just stupid. Cramps on land will bring you to a stop, but severe cramps in the water can send you to the bottom. Most of these athletes are not experienced swimmers.
He was a competitive water polo athlete for 10 years! He was close to finishing in the top five in this event. He was in top shape AND completed this event in practice with his brother 2 days prior! He also has a history of heart issues……
@@Cindeelouhoo most CrossFit athletes are not experienced swimmers. Lazar was an outlier and his drowning only underscores the dangers they were exposed to and lack of qualified lifeguards.
@@vilamarea3346 I’d better watch triathlon at Olympics. You should probably too. Anyways, the majority of triathlon races put swimming first for a reason. Do you wanna argue with that? Do you want me to explain their reasoning to you or are you smart enough to figure it out yourself?
Years ago, I was training on a USA team and some days we ran a hard 5k before we got in the pool for a workout. I was shocked and dismayed by how trashed my entire body was when I tried to swim immediately after a hard run. I mean, arms and legs just couldn’t function and I literally sank to the bottom. Thankfully, it was a shallow pool! And I was in great swimming shape!
@@vilamarea3346 Man, you are steering away from my points. 1) "it’s done in many triathlon training sessions called bricks. Wikipedia it" Dude, are we talking about training sessions? Do you go all out during training sessions? Are those training sessions usually held in open water? Is there any organization responsible for your safety when you do training sessions? You can do whatever you want when you train. You can put a weight vest on and swim with it in SF bay. You take whatever risk you want during training sessions. It is up to your discretion. We were talking about official triathlon competitions and safety measures associated with them. 2) Again, triathlons are not that regulated. You can do whatever you want and call superdupermurphtri, put a vest on every participant and make them swim, bike and run with it on and call it a triathlon. We are talking about the safety protocols present in most triathlons. And swimming precedes running in the majority of triathlons FOR A REASON. You keep slipping away from this statement, trying to ignore it because you have nothing to counter argue it with. 3) "Also, it’s very common for people with preexisting conditions to die during a triathlon in the swim leg BEING THE FIRST LEG AND NOT RUNNING BEFORE." Really? Do you think those people wouldn't die in the swim leg BEING THE LAST LEG? A nice try though. You are trying to shift attention from the people who had issues in the end of the race and not having them in the beginning. I bet most of the people having problems in the swim leg when it is first are amateur triathletes. Try to counter this logic. The fatigue builds up from the beginning of the race until the end of the race. The probability of collapsing is higher when the fatigue is stronger. Thus, athletes are more prone to collapse towards the end of the race. It is especially true when it is hot outside. The fatigue from the heat is built up from the beginning to the end. So, Mr anti-Wikipedia. What are your counter arguments to these 3 points?
@@vilamarea3346 Also, what is wrong with quoting Wikipedia? I guess you made a better platform for sharing knowledge in your spare time. Or maybe this argument amuses you. Yep, what a funny occurrence to put some smilies on. We are discussing the bad programming which might be one of the factors causing the death of Lazar Dukic but you feel amused. A lot of compassion, good job, keep doing it. You keep slipping from the statements you cannot counter argue. You pretend you don't see them. Maybe that what you should laugh at. I am curious if you can maintain a respectful discussion without putting smilies on. Well, a lot of smilies definitely show your level of education.
You can't be diligent of every swimmer at all times. That's why you scan and count numbers. Glare was evidently the issue here and the fact that the lifeguards were not patrolling as well as there being not enough of them.
@@koki5561 I am a former lifeguard. I would face criminal charges of negligence in this situation because, as a certified lifeguard, I am trained professionally, and therefore possess something called liability-responsibility. If you carry a certificate that says you are trained to handle a life or death situation, and then you accept a position to enact that training, and fail to do so due to negligence which leads to loss of life, you are held criminally responsible. Why these lifeguards aren't being held responsible is beyond me, I can only assume it's because they are not actual lifeguards, but simple volunteers.
@3van3rown they should still be held responsible as that's the job they chose to do. They arent children for people to say they have no responsibility.
Thinking about the mass starts in 2015 and 16 when people were literally swimming on top of each other. The swimming events were never safe, they've just been lucky until now... It feels unreal to lose someone in this way...
@samkitty5894 no I am at the games I watched the event while he was struggling a spectator jumped in to try and save him and they even told the lifeguards who still did nothing
First it’s snipers who fail to see a shooter right in front of them. Now it’s lifeguards who can’t even tell when someone is struggling to stay alive in the water.
People are scared to act these days. When there was less litigation, or career and social jeopardy, people would have acted immediately. Now you're scared of how f*cked you'll be if you make a bad choice and are seen as having ruined an event, or assaulted someone who was assaulting someone else in a mugging situation, etc etc..
The paddle board staff not only did they do nothing to help him while being 5 meters away to his left and right but also stopped a by stander that wanted to go and help.
Probably the worse life guards ever. Not even qualified to guard a kiddy pool. Im willing to bet they were not even qualified lifeguards, just random volunteers made to get on paddle boards for the day and look the part. Ive been to a lot of crossfit and outdoor obstacle races like Spartan, mud runs, etc and the lifeguards on duty are never qualified, just random volunteers with no life guarding experience.
The "Safety Plan" referenced by CEO Don Faul during yesterday's press conference is available in the livestream video of the event. It included three people on paddle boards (without ancillary floating devices) and a dude on a jet ski... to monitor 79 athletes over an 800 meter course on open water. On the Kettlebells and Cocktails podcast (The direction of CrossFit: A Conversation with CrossFit CEO Don Faul) six months ago, CEO Don Faul reported that "We still spend way too much money on sport (CrossFit games) ... we are going to take meaningful amounts out of that."
Dave castros 6mil networth is obviously the priority over their safety. They probably saved a few hundred bucks. They need a to have a swim or triathlon race director handle this portion of the event, it's so obvious no one qualified was. Ask any triathlete and they can pick out a ton wrong here, we've all been taught. There's reasons it's done a certain way and it's completely egotistical to think they know best.
@@johanna_na you must not live in America. you can get sued for saving someone’s life here. I promise you that you can get sued for being obviously negligent in your duty to guard lives. I was a lifeguard in Texas for 3 years and in that short time coworkers of mine were sued for NOT saving a life AND for savings someone’s life but breaking their chest plate in the process. No idea how they worked out because I left after that
My thoughts exactly. There’s a reason why triathlons and iron man’s start with the swim, there’s a reason why powerlifting comps start with the squat. Always start with the thing that could potentially be the most dangerous for a fatigued athlete.
100% man its such a shame i honestly cant believe they programmed a swim after a run, These athletes are prepared to shut their mind up so they can push their body to limits they've probably never done, you cant have them finish in the water.
Lazar played water polo for 10 years, plus his training was insane. This was a safety protocol problem, not a programming problem. Yes, having a swim in the ladder is the workout may have prevented this, however safety protocol is the major reason why this happened.
@@robgronkowski947 the most effective safety protocol to mitigate risk would be to put the swimming even first. The highest risk of death should trump highest risk of injury when ordering these events.
Based on Crossfit's history I'm sure at the next crossfit games they will have a "purge and plunge" event where they hyperventilate and then see who can swim under the water the furthest before blacking out. They may even name it after Lazar Dukic with something ridiculous like "Dukic-Dives." The justification is that they are "pushing the lungs" with "complexity" and there is "no proof" that this is dangerous.
The heat of Texas is more intense than where they've competing before. Cramps and passing out are common if you're not acclimated. I don't know what those lifeguards were doing.
Its disgusting that they stood and watched him drown. Looking for his body hours later. What were the lifeguards even doing? How did they miss it? Athletes were even shouting at them to go and check him out. Its crazy. Crossfit games needs to pay a huge fine for this. Huge. Maybe then they will prioritise saftey. Why do a run then swim? If you get tired running you stop. If you get tired swimming you die. Always swim first. Always. The lifeguards did nothing to help him. They should be punished aswell. Terrible situation.
For the first time I hear about swimming in crossfit. Regardless of that, the absence of lifesavers is shameful, as well as the lack of proper monitoring of the event in a world full of smartphones and drones with cameras. It's irresponsible!
Other swimmers and spectators nearby? Lifeguards nearby as well? Nobody makes an effort to save him? How must he have felt as he went under? Something doesn't add up on this one. 🤔☹️😮
So sad, people think he hd a heart attack. He was an elite swimmer he did not just drown, also rumours he has had heart scares in the past like the burj Khalifa climb event in Dubai a few years ago
I had a friend, who was an olympic weight lifter and in great shape, went to swim in a creek and had a heart attack out of no where and passed. IT HAPPENS.
2017 Matt Frasier almost drowned then. Another swimmer pulled him up. Crossfit hasn't corrected the safety issues since that incident and many athletes, coaches complain regularly to no avail from what im seeing, IMO.
There's a reason triathlon start with the swim: it was only a matter of time before something like this occurred with such horrible planning and execution year after year in the CrossFit games
Stop blaming the volunteers with no training. This is a leadership issue. Drowning is difficult to spot if you aren’t trained for it. Crossfit’s CEO and dave castro need to be held accountable for this.
@@RT-qz5ci Yes, someone put you in job. That's not to say you have zero responsibility. Does it? Of course, multiple people are to blame. But...Are you seriously saying that the lifeguards were not there to guard lives? Really?
I’m gutted for his brother, who went there with his brother, and could’ve never imagined that he was leaving w/o him. Ugh. Just horrific and I know how that feels personally. May ELOHIM accept him into paradise. I don’t know much about swimming. However, I’ve heard of people that knew how to swim but still ended up drowning. For the swimmers in the comments, is there a way to float when you’re exhausted? Does it take energy to float as it does to swim?
Some are acting like there weren't 2 lifeguards a few meters away on a stand up paddle clearly their fault and secondary organizers for not adding more safety measures and personell
RIP to this athlete 🙏Just saying that though these athletes are in terrific shape.. I don’t think that their endurance athletes,a long run,followed by a swim,might be an over reach,maybe.Afterall,they’re not in a sport that is seen as an endurance sport…Still a very sad day all around
By that logic, every sport should be rebranded or canceled. This is the first passing from Crossfit. Now if safety measures don't improve after this that is a huge problem.
Non-sense comment! Dukic had hearth problems and still risked his life doing what he loved and lived for. I don't think that it's worth your own life, but it was his own choice. Sadly great sportsmen died doing what they loved, Ayrton Senna, M. Schumacher... M. Ali did not die, but he got parkinson due to his intense boxing.
@@cristianolima3712 get as emotional as you want. This is still awful PR for the short. Read other comments, even fans are questioning the “life guards”, that’s on CrossFit who hired them. Like it or not this will only make people view the short in a negative way as being not safe.
@JmSmith751 we all know it's not safe. Pushing the human body past its limits isn't safe. Every sport isn't safe. Make sure to comment on football, basketball, formula 1, NASCAR, strongman, bodybuilding, powerlifting, etc... my point is it's not just CrossFit. All sports aren't safe, and every single athlete knows that. This isn't about CrossFit being safe. It's about not having the proper procedures in place to prevent it. In 2022 alone, there were 11 deaths in football. NACAR has had 28 deaths. Over 600 in soccer while playing or shortly after playing.
@@jamesrobertson6543 no one here cares about football. This will echo negativity about how unsafe THIS sport is and CrossFit has no one to blame but themselves.
I've competed in mile ocean triathlon lake etc. swims with hundreds of swimmers and amazed that this doesn't happen more often. life is a dangerous sport. rip
Looks like need to be one lifeguard per person and watch him all the time and be close to him…and plus some device with them what showing location and plus they can have button to person can press alarm what lifeguard can notice even better..
You’re blaming untrained volunteers, probably kids, instead of crossfit leadership who organized this whole stupid thing? I’m a crossfitter too. Hold the leaders accountable.
I heard about this from my parents. They own CrossFit gyms and one of our couches is currently competing in the games right now. They should’ve had more than just a few lifeguards every 50 or so feet. And these athletes have HEAVY muscle mass they aren’t meant to be swimming. And if so then it should’ve been the FIRST thing they did, and there should’ve been WAYYYY more lifeguards. There was an easy way to prevent his death and it makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about being in his position
First thing I want to know is was he vaccinated against Covid, like the thousands of other athletes who dropped dead suddenly, with absolutely no co-morbidity factors!
This is why the swim should always come first when it is a swim/run competition. If run is first higher chance of exhaustion for a higher possibility of injury/drowning/emergency.
Lifeguard should go to prison for this. This is exactly what they are there for - saving lives, not just for panting. Organisers should also go to prison for putting useless, untrained lifegurards into this positions. This is simple homicide. Those competitors put their lives into their hands.
Dizzamn, I hate to be that guy but the lifeguards were righhhhhht there. What is their job other than watching the athletes in the water? It should all eyes on the atheletes for safety, there should be other ppl judging them, lifeguards strictly safety. Don’t look anywhere else but here.
The lifeguards were right there! Why didn’t they notice anything going on?? They need to be fired immediately. And the company’s statement is complete nonsense: obviously safety is not their number one priority because the lifeguards failed to do their jobs. Rest in peace to this young man. What a terrible loss
They shouldn't have any events in the water in Houston. A relative of mine said they have that brain eating amoeba in high concentrations in their water there. Louisiana also, so don't go swimming in fresh water in those places.
So a lifeguard is on paddle board. So how is a person on a paddle board with no buoy or life vest going to pull up a man or woman from the water? On shore lifeguards have a floating buoy for the drowning victim. But a paddle board LG they have oars. This Makes sense. Not enough life guards for all the swimmers in the water. I’m curious of their safety measures that were in place for the swimmers.
