Indonesian gymnastics star, 19, dies after training accident in Russia

Al Bari was training with a group of five Indonesian athletes at the Burtasy Sports Training Center in Penza.

He suffered a serious accident while practicing on Sept. 13.

Russian news agency Tass reported that he fell onto a foam mattress, resulting in a severe neck injury. Despite receiving intensive care at GA Zakharyin Hospital, he could not make it.

"[Al Bari] was a talented young athlete and a good person. Indonesian gymnastics has lost one of the nation's finest sons. This is a deep blow and sorrow for us," said Ita Yuliati, President of the Indonesian Gymnastics Federation (IGF) on Thursday, as quoted by Olympics.com. "May the family be given strength."

The Russian Gymnastics Federation confirmed it is investigating the incident. Vice President Vasily Titov offered condolences to Indonesia and assistance in repatriating Al Bari’s body.

"We conducted the necessary investigation, and all the circumstances surrounding the injury have been established," Titov told Tass. "Unfortunately, the athlete was not prepared to perform such a complex element."

Al Bari’s death comes just one month before the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, scheduled to take place in Jakarta from Oct. 19 to 25. CNN Indonesia described his passing as a "heavy blow to the country’s gymnastics scene."

Al Bari, who studied at Surabaya University, was expected to compete for medals at the SEA Games 33 this year and had the potential to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

His death follows other tragic incidents in gymnastics. In Italy, Lorenzo Bonicelli fell into a coma after a competition but has since recovered. Past cases include American Julissa Gomez, who was paralyzed after a vault in 1998 and later died from complications, and former Soviet gymnast Elena Mukhina, who suffered a fatal neck injury performing the now-forbidden move, the Thomas salto, in 1980.

In Vietnam, a similar tragedy occurred in 2023 when Nguyen Minh Triet suffered a severe neck injury during a double backflip. Despite treatment in multiple leading hospitals in Hanoi, he died on May 9, 2024, at age 18.