Imke Glas (born 30 August 1994) is a Dutch

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

Personal life

Glas was born on 30 August 1994 in

Broek op Langedijk Broek op Langedijk ( West Frisian Dutch: ''Broek op Lengedìk'') is a village in the municipality of Dijk en Waard in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. History The village was first mentioned in the 12th century as 1420 Broec, and ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She has two siblings.

Gymnastics career

Glas began gymnastics at the age of three when her parents took her to a local gym, BSV / ODIS. Glas was one of the most promising junior elite gymnasts on the Dutch Junior National Team and was a contender to compete at the 2008 European Junior Gymnastic Championships. However, on 26 October 2007 she was severely injured in an accident on

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

. While in training, Glas was performing a round-off half-on, a variation of the

Yurchenko Yurchenko is a Ukrainian patronymic surname that comes from the name Yuriy. It may refer to: * David Yurchenko (born 1986), Russian-Armenian footballer * Denys Yurchenko (born 1978), Ukrainian pole vaulter * Ihor Yurchenko (born 1960), Soviet a ...

type vault, when her hands missed the vault table and she fell on her head. She severely damaged her sixth and seventh

cervical vertebrae In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In ...

, warranting extensive surgery in which

neurosurgeons Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

took a piece of her hip bone and placed it in her neck for stabilization. Glas and her family were told that she would never walk again, but she made a full recovery.The first steps of Imke Glas-

De Stentor ''De Stentor'' is a Zwolle-based Dutch regional newspaper, appearing in several editions, in the Eastern part of the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign stat ...

References

External links

Imke Glas Official Website Imke Glas: Health Updates Imke Glas Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glas, Imke 1994 births Living people Dutch female artistic gymnasts People from Langedijk Sportspeople from North Holland