Gaël da Silva was still talking about gymnastics just ten days before he died. The sport was his life, and it claimed the very last of his public moments before a road accident took him at 41. It marked a tragic day for the gymnastics world with the news landing like a gut punch. Among them was Simon Biles’ ex-coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, whose message said everything words could barely hold.

The co-head coach of the University of Georgia took to Instagram upon learning of the French gymnast’s death to pen an emotional note.

“Huge shock this morning as I read this news 😪,” Canqueteau-Landi wrote on her Instagram story (translated). “All my thoughts are with his children, his wife Camille, his family, and the world of gymnastics 💔”

The news is yet to be officially confirmed, but according to L’Equipe, Da Silva, one of French gymnastics’ icons, reportedly passed away after a road accident. No details beyond that have been released at the time of writing, and much remains unknown.

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The news is especially stunning, given the fact that the 41-year-old had just begun retraining as a gymnastics coach. Da Silva coached at the French Team Championships in Amiens less than ten days ago. That was after injuries plagued his career, with Da Silva missing out on two Olympics as a result.

After years of setbacks, da Silva finally competed at the 2012 London Olympics. There, he finished 10th in the floor exercise and narrowly missed out on the final. Not just that, he helped the French gymnastics team reach 8th in the team event. That was, however, arguably his best year, as Da Silva also won the bronze medal in the floor at the European World Championships in 2012.

With that, he became the only French male gymnast ever to be awarded a medal. However, outside that, the 41-year-old had been struggling with injuries and eventually retired in 2013. Da Silva had since retrained as a coach and was working with the Saint-Maur-des-Fossés club.

To understand da Silva’s sacrifice, we need to look back to the two Olympics he never competed in.

Gaël Da Silva reflects on his injuries from 2004

For many, Gaël da Silva represented France’s gymnastic hopes. Born in 1984, the gymnast had to wait until 2012 to make an international podium. However, it wasn’t because of a lack of talent or competitive nature; instead, it was fate and injuries. The 41-year-old qualified for not one but three Olympics during his career and yet only competed at one.

That’s because Da Silva suffered multiple knee injuries and an accident. The first occurred ahead of the 2004 Athens Games, where, despite having qualified, he was forced to withdraw. That was after the recurrence of a knee problem, which prevented him from participating. Then, a few weeks later, he got into a motorcycle accident. Da Silva, however, considered himself fortunate.

“My first stroke of luck was being hit by a firefighter who prevented me from losing all my blood,” Da Silva stated as per L’Equipe. “The second was that my mother convinced the surgeon to operate normally, inserting a pin in the femur rather than a prosthesis.”

However, his recovery was incredibly fast. Within four months, the gymnast had gone from a wheelchair to crutches, and then by December, he was back training.

“From my hospital bed, I saw the gym slipping away, but I didn’t want to stop there,” he admitted. “Without it, I don’t know what I would have done with my life. That’s what motivated me to get out of there quickly.”

A knee issue then forced him out of the 2008 Olympics again. This time, however, it was after he tore his cruciate ligament. Yet, once again, Da Silva got back to his feet and continued training, eventually achieving his Olympic dreams in London. Not just that, he also won his first medal at the European Championships in 2012.

“Four years after that setback, I’m here with this bronze medal, which is a great reward and a sign of hope,” he said after making the podium in 2012.

Gaël da Silva refused to let injuries, accidents, or setbacks define his story, and answered each with resilience. That the sport he gave everything to was still where he stood ten days before the end says everything about the man he was.