An athlete was found dead in the water during a swimming event on Thursday at the CrossFit Games, an international competition being held in Fort Worth that draws some of the world’s fittest competitors.
The athlete, who was not named, had been swimming in the Marine Creek Lake, the authorities said. Search-and-rescue crews were called on Thursday morning after the athlete had not been seen for some time. It was not immediately clear how the athlete had died.
The competition attracts hundreds of thousands hundreds of competitors who participate in CrossFit, a high-intensity fitness program that incorporates lifestyle changes and aerobics workouts. The competition started in February, as the fields narrowed down to the quarterfinals in April and the semifinals in May. The CrossFit Games were scheduled to concluded this weekend in Fort Worth.
Don Faul, the chief executive of CrossFit, the company behind the games, said during a news conference on Thursday that
“CrossFit is deeply saddened by the death of one of our athletes.”
The competition, taking place from Thursday through Sunday, was being streamed online. In videos of the event that were circulating on social media, an athlete appeared to be struggling to swim toward the finish line.
Dozens of athletes had been scheduled to participate in a swimming event on Thursday morning, according to a CrossFit Games schedule posted online. Athletes were being timed for a 3.5-mile run and an 800-meter swim, according to the CrossFit Games.
Mr. Faul said that the remaining events for the CrossFit Games on Thursday had been canceled.
Craig Trojacek, a spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said at the news conference that search-and-rescue crews were called around 8 a.m. about a “participant in the water” who was down and “hadn’t been seen” for some time.
The Fire Department used dive teams and drones to locate the body in the water, which was found about an hour after the first diver had gone into the water, Mr. Trojacek said.
The Police Department said later in a statement that the athlete was declared dead at the scene.
Emergency crews had not been on-site on Thursday morning until the Fire Department was called, Mr. Trojacek said. The CrossFit Games had its own safety plan in place for the competition, which was being shared with the authorities, Mr. Faul said.
Sgt. Leah Wagner of the Fort Worth Police Department said that the athlete would not be publicly identified until the family had been contacted.
At the news conference, Mr. Faul said that he was “gutted,” adding that the CrossFit community is “like a family.”
“People care a lot of about each other,” he said, “and there’s a lot of people in the community that are hurting right now.”
The CrossFit Games said in a post on social media that “the well-being of competitors is our first priority and we are heartbroken by this tragic event.”
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