The parents of Austria's top pole vaulter Kira Grunberg were watching when their daughter landed on her head during a training exercise and was left paralysed. 
 
 Her manager Thomas Herzog has said Grunberg, 21, landed on her head and neck next to the mat during a routine training jump on Thursday morning in Innsbruck. 
 
 Kira Grunberg in action last year. Photo: Getty Images 
 
 The accident left Grunberg's cervical vertebrae fractured. 
 
 Despite several hours of work by surgeons at Innsbruck's University Clinic, her family were later given the devastating diagnosis. ||||| Austria's leading pole-vaulter Kira Grünberg has suffered severe cervical injuries after the 21-year-old landed beside the mat on her head and neck in a practice jump. Her injuries have left her tetraplegic. 
 
 A statement on Friday from the Austrian athletics federation (ÖLV) and the University Clinic in Innsbruck where Grünberg is being treated revealed "a fracture of the cervical vertebrae of the spine" had been found. The statement added: "After we had diagnosed paraplegia before the operation, the patient received emergency surgery in order to stabilize her spine and avoid further damage." 
 
 Trained by her father, Grünberg finished fourth at the 2012 junior world championships before going on to set an Austrian women's record of 4.45 meters during last year's outdoor European Championships in Zurich. She repeated that feat indoors in Prague in March of this year. 
 
 jh/asz (SID, dpa)
– Pole vaulting can be an extremely dangerous sport, as a March Vice article made clear. How it summed the potential for catastrophe: "At 20 feet, a pole vault accident is like someone falling off the roof of their house, while running as fast at they can with a thick pole in their hands." Such catastrophe struck on Thursday: During a practice jump that her manager described as routine, Austria's champion female pole vaulter landed just off the mat on her head and neck. The accident, which the Sydney Morning Herald reports was witnessed by her parents, left Kira Grunberg a paraplegic. The Austrian athletics federation said in a joint statement with the University Clinic in Innsbruck on Friday that the 21-year-old suffered "a fracture of the cervical vertebrae of the spine" and underwent "emergency surgery to stabilize her spine." The statement puts it plainly: "At the moment, the continuation of her sporting career is not an option." In a post to her Facebook page, Grunberg's family notes the "tragic accident" didn't just end her career but also means a "new life" and "long and difficult" path for her. NPR reports she is now breathing on her own, and describes Europe's sporting world as in shock but rallying to support Grunberg financially. Deutsche Welle reports Grunberg holds Austria's women's record of 4.45 meters, which she set during the European Championships in Zurich in 2014. Read more about pole vaulting, its catastrophic injuries, and how the mat factors into things.