Silence suddenly fell over the Essen arena, in the midst of the artistic gymnastics competition at the Universiade. An eerie silence, broken only by the echo of the emergency workers' frantic footsteps and the stunned looks of teammates, coaches, and spectators.
In an instant, the invisible embrace of an entire sports community tightened around the motionless body of Lorenzo Bonicelli, 23 years old.
Lorenzo, a native of Lecco and a promising Italian gymnast, fell heavily during the third rotation of his rings routine. A bad exit, a violent impact, and then darkness.
Immediately assisted by the organization's medical staff and by paramedics from FISU and CUSI, he was rushed to the Essen University Hospital . There, he underwent neck surgery, which involved the cervical vertebrae.
According to former director of the international federation Steve Butcher, who shared an update on social media, Lorenzo is now in a medically induced coma. His condition remains critical, and the next ten days will be crucial.
The news hit the Italian team like a rock, deeply shaken by the incident. "Due to the understandable emotional involvement of the rest of the team," the Italian coaching staff stated, "it was decided to withdraw the national university team from the competition."
Lorenzo, a member of the Ghislanzoni GAL, is also an economics student at Mercatorum University . He began to make an impact in 2017 at the Austrian Future Cup, before winning team bronze at the 2019 World Youth Championships in Gyor.
After the pandemic-induced hiatus, he returned stronger, earning a call-up to the 2023 World Cup in Antwerp, where he celebrated Italy's qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Considered one of the most promising prospects for the 2028 Los Angeles Games , Lorenzo did not take part in the European Championships in Leipzig last June, but remained within the national team, ready to have his say in future challenges.
From the European Youth Olympic Festival in Croatia comes a moving thought from the Italian coach Paolo Bucci: «We want to express our closeness to Lorenzo's family and to him personally, hoping that everything will work out for the best».
The official statement arrived in the afternoon: "He is in intensive care but his life is not in danger." These are the words of the consul in Cologne, Luis Cavalieri: "His life is not in danger, and he even opened his eyes because the doctors temporarily lifted the induced coma to see if there was any irreparable neurological damage, which fortunately doesn't appear to be the case. The doctors had to restart the induced coma medication because there is swelling. The fractured vertebra affected the spinal cord, and extensive swelling has formed that must reabsorb. Once this swelling subsides, the doctors will need to assess what has happened to the spinal cord."
