Southern CT State U Gymnast Melanie Coleman Dies Following Spinal Cord Injury During Training

HARTFORD, CT. (THECOUNT) — Melanie Coleman, of Milford, Connecticut, an accomplished gymnast at Southern Connecticut State University, has died following a spinal cord injury suffered in a training accident.

Coleman, 20, was training Friday at New Era Gymnastics in Hamden when she was fatally injured, said her mother, Susan Coleman.

She was transported to an area hospital where she passed away on Sunday, according to family members.

Coleman was a former All State gymnast at Jonathan Law High School in Milford and was captain of the school’s gymnastics team.

She was named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-American this year.

SCSU Athletics via Twitter:

“@SCSU_Owls Southern Connecticut State University Athletics Mourns Passing Of Gymnast Melanie Coleman”

Her coaches and professors described her as a special young woman who excelled in both the classroom and gym, college President Joe Berolino said in a written statement, reports WGN.

“Our deepest sympathies are extended to her family and friends on this tragic loss,” he said.

Funeral arrangement have not yet been announced.

DEVELOPING::

Geo quick facts: Hartford is the capital of Connecticut. It’s home to the Mark Twain House & Museum. The 1874 mansion contains thousands of artifacts, including the desk at which Twain wrote his best-known works. The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center includes the author’s Victorian house and many period furnishings, plus a garden. The broad collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art includes Renaissance and impressionist works – wikipedia.