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.

Sign up for our Morning E-mail Newsletter to receive the latest headlines in your inbox.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Wednesday

10/22/2025

Mostly Clear

-° / 56°

6%

Thursday

10/23/2025

Clear

74° / 54°

4%

Friday

10/24/2025

Mostly Clear

79° / 55°

3%

Saturday

10/25/2025

Partly Cloudy

76° / 55°

10%

Sunday

10/26/2025

Clear

73° / 53°

4%

Monday

10/27/2025

Clear

73° / 53°

3%

Tuesday

10/28/2025

Clear

75° / 54°

3%

Wednesday

10/29/2025

Mostly Clear

78° / 56°

3%