The word about the tragic death of Lazar Đukić has spread around the fitness community and pushed athletes to uncover their true thoughts about the CrossFit organization. One of those was the third-place finisher from the 2024 CrossFit Games, Brent Fikowski.
Straight after his performance at the Games Brent Fikowski turned to Instagram in order to share his thoughts. He expressed his concern over the inability of the CrossFit organization to meet the safety standards that the athletes are looking for. Fikowski started his statement off with a heart-shattering line:
“The weekend is over, and I miss my friend, Lazar.”
Brent Fikowski’s Statement Regarding Safety Within CrossFit
One of the biggest concerns is that CrossFit did not accept any of the efforts from multiple athletes who proposed constructive feedback, including Fikowski, Tia, Pat Vellner, and even Lazar Đukić.
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“Whilst I know that CrossFit does not aim to hurt anybody, when they say, ‘Safety is our number one priority’, I simply have not believed this to be true for a long time. I believe their top priority has always been their subjective definition of ‘the test’ and the creative freedom they wish to exert when inventing these workouts. Athlete safety comes, at best, a paltry second”, wrote Fikowski.
Brent Fikowski continued by saying how he, as the president of the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA), along with the other members, has been trying to promote safety in the sport. However, even he did not think that something as bad as Lazar’s death could occur.
“I’ll be honest; I was worried about avoiding many of the same safety issues we’ve tried to solve in the past: a knee injury caused by a max back squat on a wet wooden platform in the rain; an injury from landing on a coiled climbing rope; achilles injuries from rebounding box jumps; 36 out of 320 men experiencing pectoralis tears in three consecutive weeks of Regionals with no programming alterations; or illness from E. coli bacteria in a lake.”
Brent Fikowski points out that what bothers the athletes the most is that this has become a repeating pattern of behavior. Whenever anyone tries to provide feedback, the organization blocks it off without any recognition.
Related: Multiple Athletes Withdraw From 2024 CrossFit Games After the Death of Lazar Đukić
PFAA’s Attempt at Improving the 2024 CrossFit Games Experience
After CrossFit announced that Fort Worth was the new venue for the 2024 Games, the athletes began to wonder just how much effect the Texas heat would have on them. In turn, the PFAA sends an email to CrossFit asking how many events would be performed outside, including their duration and the time of day. They also justified their request by stating that the athletes need to know how to prepare for the heat in order to avoid the risk that comes with it.
“We are not releasing event details at this time, but we assure you that athlete safety is our number one priority when considering the climate in Fort Worth,” replied CrossFit.
The PFAA once again sent an email to CrossFit, but this time with even more detail, stating that they don’t want to know what the events are, but just how often and for how long they would have to spend in the heat. They were met with another underwhelming response from CrossFit.
“We’ve tried to communicate professionally, and this is what we are met with. To me, this is a typical indication of CrossFit’s lack of professionalism and interest in collaboration on safety concerns. I kept thinking, is that the best you can do for the athletes?”
Related: Lazar Đukić Goes Missing During Swimming Event at 2024 CrossFit Games
PFAA’s Plan Moving Forward
Having addressed the past, Brent Fikowski also revealed what he and his colleagues have planned for the future. This mainly covers making changes to the sport so that it can be a much safer environment moving forward.
“I plan to play a leadership role via the PFAA to keep pushing for change in a sport I know can be so much better in every way.
Every year my trust in CrossFit Games staff’s ability to run an effective competition erodes more and more. It is not a secret that many competing athletes resent the organization.
With the death of Lazar, the trust is gone. We need change, and I, with my colleagues at the PFAA, hope to lead the way on behalf of all athletes, past, present, and future, to prevent something from happening again in a sport we love.
Lazar is dead. Nothing will bring him back.”
Check out Brent Fikowski’s Full Statement here:
Related: Laura Horvath & Jeffrey Adler Withdraw From 2024 CrossFit Games
Many of CrossFit’s biggest names have shown their support for Brent Fikowski and his plan for the future, including Patrick Vellner, the 2x Fittest Woman on Earth, Annie Thorisdottir, Alex Gazan, Khan Porter, and more. Many others also believe that Lazar’s death could have been prevented, including his own brother Luka. So, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold and what changes will take place.
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