Italian gymnast Lorenzo Bonicelli has a message for himself: never give up.
The 23-year-old, who sustained a neck injury while performing a triple-flipping dismount off the still rings during the qualifying round at the FISU 2025 World University Games in the Rhine-Ruhr region, appeared in a video Monday (10 November), sharing his determination as he continues his rehabilitation process.
“My dear Lorenzo, what can I say: the journey is long and difficult, and you know it. Many times you will want to give up, even for many days in a row, you will want to let yourself go with the flow, with the difficulties of life, because it will be the easiest thing to do,” said Bonicelli. “However, I know that you will also be very afraid of this ease of giving up, it is such a simple thing, but what will frighten you will be the doubt of how deep this dark pit can be, from which it will probably be even more impossible to get out.”
Bonicelli underwent surgery in Germany to reduce a cervical sprain trauma with subluxation of the fifth vertebra, and a tracheotomy was performed to help him breathe. He was later moved to a hospital in Milan where he began to communicate and eat on his own.
Since his transfer from Germany to Italy, Bonicelli has been accompanied by his family and his girlfriend, Lisa Rigamonti, a former gymnast and now a nurse.
“I know that you will work as hard as you can to never give up,” he said later in the video. “If this dialogue in the mirror can help you move forward, I truly hope with all my heart that it will.”