Bodybuilder dies after his backflip trick goes wrong

A BODYBUILDING champion has died from horrific injuries after an attempted backflip during a competition went badly wrong.

Sifiso Lungelo Thabethe broke his neck after landing on his head during the botched manoeuvre.

In a video posted online, the South African bodybuilder is seen entering a gymnasium and whipping up the watching crowd by flexing his muscles. The 23-yearold competitor, pictured, then runs on to a gym mat and jumps in the air to attempt the back flip.

However, his body failed to gain enough momentum to rotate and Mr Thabethe landed on the back of his head. His body then rolled over and he laid motionless on the mat before several people rushed to help at the event last Saturday.

According to Body Building South Africa, ‘Sifiso had a signature backflip’ he liked to perform on stage’.

The organisation’s executive president Wayne Price said: ‘We suspect, because he was wearing socks this time, that he slipped or didn’t get enough momentum and landed horribly on his head.’

Bodybuilding magazine Muscle Evolution wrote of the champion: ‘The bodybuilding community was shocked and saddened by the tragic news of the death of Sifiso Lungelo Thabethe, a bodybuilder from Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal [eastern South Africa].’

A former International Federation of Body Builders Junior World Champion, it was reported he had ‘impressed the crowd and judges with unbelievable muscle size and maturity beyond his age’ at a recent competition.