Last month, US gymnast Donnell Whittenburg joined Simone Biles-starrer Gold Over America Tour, becoming one of the first male gymnasts to be on the tour. However, the 30-year-old was forced to withdraw from the tour due to an unspecified injury. While he tends to his injury, having gone through surgery, Donnell has asked fans to extend their support to one of his mentors.

On September 23, 2x World Championships medalist broke the news about his injury on Instagram sharing, “Unfortunately, I got hurt on the tour. It’s tough to step away, especially all the work I put in. But health comes first.”  Almost a week later, he updated the fans writing, “Made it through yesterday’s surgery; time to heal up.” Though he is on the road to recovery, his coach Anthony Ingrelli is battling a critical medical condition and

The official USA Gymnastics Instagram account shared via a story that Anthony Ingrelli is in need of help after a medical emergency. The caption of the story read, “Coach Anthony Ingrelli, (2022 Worlds & 2023 Pan Am Games coaching staff, @huskermgym athlete from 2008-2011,) is in need of our help after a medical emergency.” The post shared a GoFundMe link set up for the coach.

With an earnest-looking emoji, the 3x Pan Am Games gold medalist Whittenburg reshared the post in his IG story, showing concern for his coach. According to Ingrelli’s GoFundMe page, the veteran coach started having seizures on October 15 and required medical attention immediately. After a while, it surfaced that he was diagnosed with a case of a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the right frontal lobe of his brain.

Hence, on October 24, a craniotomy surgery was needed to resect the vessels to prevent future bleeding. But he wasn’t out of the woods yet. During imaging, it was also discovered that Ingrelli has a second AVM in the cerebellum, which is currently stable. The fundraiser page also pointed out that he will need surgery in the future to avoid a rupture, bleed, or damage to the brain. The procedure will happen only once he is recovered from his first surgery.

Notably, the coach was part of the staff that helped Team USA dominate the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. At the Games, Whittenburg won the team gold and also clinched the gold medal in the Rings under Ingrelli. The coach was also part of the staff at the 2022 World Championships and is a former Nebraska gymnast.

With this update, the gymnastics community came together, with Yul Moldauer and Simone Biles’ coach Cecile Landi among those who extended their support and took action.

Simone Biles’ coach, among others, takes action

Soon after Donnell’s post, his fellow gymnasts amplified his voice to spread the news of Ingrelli’s condition with pleas to the fans to help out. The 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist Yul Moldauer also posted on X noting that he has already donated to the cause, underscoring that he will always do his best to help someone who’s working tirelessly to make gymnastics a more popular sport in the USA and beyond.

“Just donated to help with medical bills for someone who needs brain surgery. It’s tough seeing a dedicated coach go through this,” wrote Moldauer in his social media update, and requested others to follow suit.

Cecile Landi knows perfectly well what it takes to coach a group of elite gymnasts at the highest level of the sport. The iconic gymnastics coach has worked with the GOAT Simone Biles for years and has been instrumental in Team USA’s recent Olympic success. Understandably, Ingrelli’s condition strikes a chord with Landi and in her Instagram story, Landi also shared the link to the GoFundMe page that has been set up for the men’s gymnastics coach.