This afternoon, the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA) released a statement following the death of Lazar Djukic during the first event of the 2024 CrossFit Games. In the statement, the PFAA made three demands “necessary to restore athletes’ confidence in the sport of CrossFit.”

These demands included transparency regarding the independent investigation into the death of Lazar Djukic, the establishment of an independent security team and the dismissal of Dave Castro from his sports team.

The statement posted on the PFAA Instagram account read as follows:

The PFAA represents the interests of athletes competing in the CrossFit Games season. The sport is built on the principle that athletes do not know all the details of the events they are competing in. However, we always assumed that if something went wrong, they would bail us out. We were wrong.

1) We demand an appropriate level of transparency between CrossFit and the PFAA regarding their independent investigation into the death of Lazar Dukic and subsequent changes to protect all athletes going forward.

2) We demand that CrossFit establish an independent safety team that works with the PFAA on an ongoing basis.

3) We demand that Dave Castro be removed from his position on the sports team.

These demands reflect the immediate steps needed to restore athlete confidence in the sport of CrossFit. The PFAA also recognizes that more needs to be done to change the culture and strategic direction of this sport and secure its future, and that will take time.

Signed by the PFAA Board – Anníe Thorisdottir, Brent Fikowski, Dina Swift, Fee Saghafi, Leeverne Engelbrecht, Patrick Vellner, Royce Dunne, Victoria Campos

The PFAA was founded in July 2020 and is led by PFAA President Brent Fikowski. Fikowski is supported by athletes from the seven competitive regions, including Pat Vellner, Annie Thorisdottir and Fee Saghafi. Advisory board members include Caroline Lambray, John Christian Singleton, Justin Cotler, Max El-Hag and Joshua Hicks.

In late 2023, the PFAA partnered with Loud & Live Sports, the organization that produces TYR Wodapalooza Miami and SoCal.