The Italian gymnast Lorenzo Bonicelli was awakened from the artificial coma after his serious accident at the World University Games Rhine-Ruhr. This was announced by the Italian gymnastics association (FGI) on Friday. Bonicelli fell on Wednesday during the qualification in gymnastics in Essen at the world championship of the students, afterwards the 23-year-old had to be operated on at the cervical vertebrae.
“The condition of Lorenzo Bonicelli is stable and his life is not in danger,” said the association. Accordingly, the athlete, “remained” after the accident until the operation with consciousness “, was awakened from the artificial coma on Friday and is said to show” positive signs “since then.
According to a spokeswoman for the university hospital in Essen, Bonicelli is currently in the intensive care unit in the presence of his family. His teammates are said to have already visited him and spoke to him.
Bonicelli had failed on Wednesday during his exercise on the struggles, he landed on his neck after a triple backward salo.
The FIG continued to say “the entire Italian gymnastics movement is waiting for positive news and stated in every conceivable way its affection for Bonicelli”. The association has not yet known more information about the condition of the athlete.