Naufal Takdir Al Bari

Tragedy struck the Indonesian gymnastics community this week when an athlete attending a national team training camp at the Burtasy Sports Palace in Penza, Russia passed away just weeks before competing in his first world championships, which is set to take place on his home soil beginning October 19.

Naufal Takdir Al Bari, 19, was attempting an element on the high bar when he had an awkward landing in a foam pit that resulted in a severe neck injury, according to a post from the Russian federation. He was transported to G.A. Zakharyin Hospital in Penza, where he underwent intensive care for 12 days before passing away early on Thursday, September 25.

Al Bari made his major international debut just three months ago, competing on floor exercise and pommel horse at the Asian Championships in South Korea. According to Gymnastics Indonesia, Al Bari was expected to represent his country again at next month’s world championships at home in Jakarta as well as at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand later this year. One of his longterm goals was qualifying for the Olympic Games in 2028.

“Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we shall return,” said Ita Juliati, the president of Gymnastics Indonesia. “Naufal was a talented young athlete and a good person. Indonesian Gymnastics has lost one of the nation’s finest. This is a deep blow and sorrow for us. May his family be given strength and may Naufal find a place in the best place by Allah.”

Vasiliy Titov, vice president of the Russian federation, explained that there has already been an investigation into Al Bari’s injury and subsequent death. “All of the circumstances surrounding the injury have been established,” he said, adding that “unfortunately, the athlete was not prepared to perform such a complex element.”

“We sent our condolences to the Indonesian federation today, informed them of what happened, and everything that needed to be done, we did,” Titov said.

This is the second training-related international elite-level death in only four years. In May of 2021, Séverine Djala Abaka of Cameroon passed away at just 21 years old after falling from the uneven bars and suffering a neck injury. Though her subsequent emergency surgery was initially thought to be a success, with Djala Abaka regaining consciousness and wishing her teammates luck for the upcoming African Championships, she then shockingly passed away just days later.

Though tragic accidents that result in death are rare in gymnastics, both of these instances highlight how dangerous the sport can be, especially for athletes from developing programs that often lack the equipment and/or technical guidance that would ensure the safest possible conditions when they begin competing at the elite level.

These accidents and injuries can happen to even the strongest athletes under the most ideal circumstances, however. At the University Games in July, Italy’s Lorenzo Bonicelli had a terrifying fall from rings resulting in a severe neck injury. He underwent emergency surgery and was put in a medically-induced coma for two weeks before being well enough to be transferred to a hospital back home in Italy. Coaching expertise and equipment play a major role in keeping athletes safe, but freak accidents are also impossible to avoid in a sport with so much inherent danger. Though Al Bari may have been attempting a difficult skill, as Titov suggests in his statement, I think it’s important to remember that a slip from the high bar on even the simplest element can cause an athlete to lose air awareness and fall incorrectly.

With the Indonesian federation set to welcome the gymnastics community to Jakarta in less than three weeks in the wake of this devastating news, the competition will carry a weight unlike any before. While a showcase of growth and moment of national pride for this up-and-coming program, which qualified its first-ever Olympian last quad when Rifda Irfanaluthfi made the cut for Paris 2024, this world championships must now also exist under the shadow of Al Bari’s passing.

I hope the organizers will use this time to honor the life, achievements, and legacy of a young athlete whose aspirations ended far too soon, but will endure in the spirit of his family, friends, and teammates who have the opportunity to show the world the meaning of resilience.

Article by Lauren Hopkins