ISU student dies weightlifting at Ankeny gym

Molly Longman
Des Moines Register

An Iowa State University student died on Monday morning following a weightlifting accident at the Elite Edge Transformation Center in Ankeny. 

Mark Yontz, a communications adviser for the strategic communications firm Wixted & Company, confirmed on behalf of the gym that the man was Kyle Thomson.

Annette Hacker, news service director at ISU, confirmed that Thomson was registered as a senior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the university and was on a criminal justice track. 

He was 22 years old and from Pleasant Hill, Hacker said.  

A statement on behalf of Elite Edge said that a barbell slipped form Thomson's hands while he was working out as part of the Warriors advanced training program. Yontz told the Associated Press on Thursday morning that Thomson was bench pressing 315 pounds at the time of the accident.

Ankeny Fire Chief James Clack says the barbell fell on Thomson's neck. Clack says a fire ambulance took Thomson to a Des Moines hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The slip caused "massive internal injuries," which Thomson later died of, the statement said. 

Elite Edge Transformation Center Owner Joe Brammer confirmed there was a spotter present at the time of Thomson's accident, Yontz said.

"This is a difficult and painful time, and our thoughts are with the member’s family. Grief counselors are meeting with staff and gym members over the next couple of days," Brammer said in the statement. "We would ask that you keep his family in your prayers."

— Information from the Associated Press was  used in this article.