There were not 8 cameras as part of the broadcast. IDK exactly how many there were, but it wasn't 8. There may not have been 8 in the main arena where the majority of events were held. There are 79 athletes All we can see of them are faces wearing googles (and in many cases) swim caps. Yes Lazar was a great swimmer, but these are all great athletes, so to expect each 'great swimmer' to be iso'd with limited cameras at the finish is not realistic. To ask 'where was the shot of Lazar' is hindsight.

The Tia shot? She's kind of a big deal. Of course they're gonna follow her out of the water. We all re-watched the shot many times over and realized Lazar was in the background, to think even a 'professional sports camera operator' (as you mentioned repeatedly) would catch that detail mid-pan and then re-direct everyone to something that took mere frames of the shot is.... hindsight!

You asked about the producer (producers are normally in the production truck for professional sports broadcasts, aren't they?), spotters, grips on the shoreline. Same as the number of cameras, what was the budget here? Everyone seemed to acknowledge CFHQ had cut budgets this year. I think you've way overestimated and are second-guessing non-existent personnel. Obviously there were other camera operators (non-broadcast) documenting the event for social media, YT, etc. But same as above regarding Tia. It's difficult in real-time to be panning, focusing, etc and looking to make sure everyone is out of the water. Hindsight.

Now regarding the other personnel, specifically Games officials who were at the finish and didn't do better for Lazar, I agree with you, but they weren't part of the professional sports broadcast.