News

Actions

Weightlifter dies after 315-pound barbell drops on his neck

Posted
and last updated

ANKENY, Iowa - Authorities say a 22-year-old man has died after a barbell slipped from his grasp and crushed his neck at a gym in central Iowa.

The accident occurred Monday morning at Elite Edge Transformation Center in Ankeny, about 10 miles north of Des Moines. A spokesman for the center, Mark Yontz, said Thursday that Kyle Thomson was bench-pressing 315 pounds when the barbell slipped.

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.

Yontz says there were spotters watching Thomson on the bench.

Iowa State University spokeswoman Annette Hacker says Thomson was a student there and lived in Pleasant Hill.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Monday

03/23/2026

Sunny

87° / 58°

0%

Tuesday

03/24/2026

Sunny

88° / 58°

2%

Wednesday

03/25/2026

Sunny

87° / 57°

2%

Thursday

03/26/2026

Partly Cloudy

83° / 57°

2%

Friday

03/27/2026

Partly Cloudy

88° / 61°

2%

Saturday

03/28/2026

Partly Cloudy

90° / 58°

0%

Sunday

03/29/2026

Mostly Sunny

88° / 59°

1%

Monday

03/30/2026

Partly Cloudy

84° / 53°

2%