For days, gymnastics has lived with suspended breath and with a different and more intense cheering than what you live for the most important of the races: it is cheering for “Bonni” and there is much more than a medal at stake. It was July 23, Lorenzo Bonicelli23 years old, Ghilanzoni Gal’s gymnast of Lecco, engaged with Italy at the Universiade of Essen (Germany), was completing his exercise to the rings, when in the release, a triple jump, something went wrong and fell badly on the cervical vertebrae, remaining on the platform. “Lorenzo – reads the Federginnastica press release – presents the results of a cervical distorting trauma with subluxation of the fifth vertebrapromptly and impeccablely reduced in the surgical seat. Unfortunately, a neurological damagewhose entity is not, at the moment, still evaluable “. The Gymnast of Abbadia Lariana where it is still hospitalized at the University Hospital of Essen, very close to the race field. It is not in danger of life and is” vigilant and oriented “, but Federginnastica communicated on July 31st, after a long consultation of the Professor Andrea Ferretti, president of the new FGI medical commission and director of the Coni Sports Medicine Institute, with the neurosurgeons that operated the athlete, That as soon as it is possible to do it safely he is discharged and returns for the rehabilitation in Italy, his family and his girlfriend are with him and his sports club has started a fundraising #InsieraBonni online to help him in the commitment path he will have to facebut it is clear that when the world of sport happen such serious things comes out deeply troubled.
And those who have children and grandchildren who practice the same sport identifies themselves and wonders about the risks. Igor Cassina, Olympic champion of Athens 2004 in the bar, creator of a movement that bears his name, today is the father of three children, the last Athena born on June 25, has no federal roles, is an entrepreneur and coach in the sector Wellness, he is no longer technical director, but he is very updated because he continues to comment on World Cup and Gymnastics Olympics for Rai. With all this baggage his voice, on such a difficult day, is precious to understand and orient himself in what happens.
It is normal that in moments like these who has a child or grandson who practice artistic gymnastics at different levels wonders: how much is it risky? There is often talk of new codes (international regulations, updated every 4 years after each Olympics) that encourage to seek the difficulty. Is there any?
«It is a delicate situation that you would never want to face, I cheer for Lorenzo. From a certain point of view it is true that gymnastics has evolved and that the codes partly push to look for the difficulty to win high level races, but I would say that this on a scale from one to ten, does not affect the real risk more than four. I invented a movement at the bar that entered the code with my name that at the time had the daredevil for its complexity but which adapted to my characteristics and that I was easier and more natural to me than others on the simplest card. Lorenzo was a teacher in performing the triple jump that cost him the injury, he also did it at the bar because he had it in the ropes and he master it very well, this to say not only that unfortunately there are fatality and bad luck but that even in everyday life the risk in doing something is greater or lesser depending on the mastery: those who are more prepared, trained, an expert in sport and in the sport. Complex better, it is essential not to improvise. And certainly it was not the case with Lorenzo who had that jump in the ropes like few others ».
But is it true that in creating new exercises we go towards the exasperation of the risk, rather than in the past?
“I would say no, today compared to years ago gymnastics is safer: before we threw ourselves more without a preparatory of approach, today the technical knowledge, the preparatory, but also the structures of the gyms that allow you to try and learn more difficulties in protected conditions, the same competition fields have better protections have improved: this is the case that today even very difficult exercises are less at risk of others more simple than the past. The triple to the free body was performed for the first time forty years ago, the same release cost Lorenzo’s injury dates back to the Soviet Union, was brought to the race by Dimitri Karbanenko in 1990. Then it is clear that the error and unfortunate are around the corner, but also in life: just think that the statistically most dangerous place is your home “.
Is it true that the update of the code also serves to ban movements seen in the race and judged too risky? Today Olga Korbut could not make Montreal parallels 1972.
“Yes, not surprisingly, all the jumps that came not standing but in rotation (to understand us, in non -technical terms, landing in a somersault), such as the so -called” Arab “of the eighties, have been abolished. They are banned not because they are in themselves particularly difficult movements, but because it was evaluated that when you land from two meters a mistake is enough to make them risky for the cervical vertebrae. The international federation has no interest in making athletes run free risks: athletes would suffer from it but also the image of the discipline. I do not be part of it anymore, I can say it objectively, having no direct interests I can say that the gymnastics has been and it is still my passion but if I saw a race to risk I would be the first to report it, but I can say that the international federation also intervenes to discourage the risk for the risk: Igor Radivilov in Rio 2016 presented the triple jump to the vaulting, but the international federation has banned it immediately, because even if you are a phenomenon, even if you are a phenomenon, high ».
Have you ever really risked?
«Yes, but because I was one who threw himself, for too much passion a little reckless, today, acquired the wisdom of the 48 years and of paternity, I realize that I was sometimes a little unconscious. With today’s head, as a father, I would pull my ears to that hygor. But I also know that in current gyms I would be more protected too, if not from my character at least from the structures: it was a risk that came from my attitude not from the intrinsic risks of the discipline. Then unfortunately it is true that fatality exists, as in life, and maybe it strikes you when you do not go looking for it: but the very serious accidents at the vertebral level in gymnastics are really a very rare thing. In the entire history of Italian gymnastics I remember only one: that of Federico Chiarugi, who landed badly on an Arabic (now prohibited) in 1986 “.
Today gymnastics is a social sport, it also happens, especially among the girls where it is very popular, which are shared videos in which some non -level influencers grooves trimmed with risky things, and then spreading the tests on YouTube by caught clicks of ecstatic girls. How dangerous is this dynamic?
«Much, much because a child looks at and then unfortunate attempts to emulate poorly successful jumps on the trampoline he has in the garden, on the shoreline or jumping from the wall to the park, things in which you run much greater risk than you can run in the gym where you are between adequate and controlled structures. Unfortunately there are also those who abuse the protected place and the skills to catch clicks, as always depends on the person, the tools are good or bad depending on how they use. Unfortunately, there are everything on the net: there are those who use it to spread knowledge and those who to acquire popularity at any cost without worrying about the consequences. Parents are to tell me that you have to be very careful about the risks of emulation on social networks ».
