Texas, USA

An athlete died in the US state of Texas on Thursday (Aug 8) while participating in a swimming competition at a CrossFit competition. It was the opening day of the games, slated to go through Sunday. However, due to the unfortunate incident in Fort Worth, all of the events were cancelled for the day.

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CrossFit CEO Don Faul said the organisation would be “regrouping” to discuss the plan for the rest of the event. Faul added he was “gutted” by the incident.

"We'll continue to be focused on our community and the family through this tragic set of circumstances," he said.

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The incident took place in Marine Creek Lake Thursday morning. As per authorities, The Fort Worth Fire Department responded to a stress call at 8:00 am (local time) after a participant went missing in the lake.

The divers were able to pull out the dead body an hour after the response team arrived. Five divers and a drone were deployed in the search operation.

Meanwhile, a live stream of the event that was being telecast on several social media channels was abruptly stopped and taken down.

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The dead body was later transferred to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner. As per reports, the name of the participant will be released pending family notification.

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"There's a lot of people in the community that are hurting right now, that are really sad, that knew the athlete well, that loved, respected this person," the CrossFit CEO said. "A lot of people are in mourning."

CrossFit was cooperating with the authorities, as per Faul. He added safety personnel were on-site during the event.

Thirty teams from around the world are competing in the CrossFit Games, which is being held in Texas for the first time in its 18-year history.

(With inputs from agencies)