College Star Gymnast Melanie Coleman Dies After A Fall In Training

MELANIE COLEMAN, a 20-year-old junior athlete at Southern Connecticut State University, suffered a serious spinal cord injury while practising on the uneven bars on Friday before being pronounced dead Sunday at Yale New Haven Hospital, the university announced in a public statement.

Coleman was considered one of the most promising young gymnasts in the United States,  she was an all-state athlete for Jonathan Law High School. In 2018, she honoured by USA Gymnastics as an All-America Scholar-Athlete and was also recognized by Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association as a Scholastic All-American. She was pursuing a degree in nursing from Southern Connecticut.

“We are heartbroken and stunned by Melanie’s passing,” SCSU Head Coach Mary Fredericks said in a statement posted on the SCSU Owls website. “She was an incredibly hard worker and a sweet-spirited young woman. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to her family at this time. The SCSU Gymnastics team will miss her greatly though she will always be with us.”

She was a loving daughter, sister, cousin, teammate and best friend,” her family said in a statement to local press.

“We are confident that her spirit, laughter and humour will live on through the ones who loved her most, as well as through the gift of life to those who needed it most through organ donation.”

“Melanie gained her angel wings tonight and was able to give life to others.”