Kira Grünberg (born 13 August 1993 in Innsbruck) is an Austrian politician and former athlete who specialised in the pole vault.

During a routine jump, she landed on her head and neck in the box in front of the mat, fracturing her fifth cervical vertebrae.

Grünberg's dream of becoming a professional pole vaulter began when she was seven years old and watched the Olympic Games in Sydney on TV.

[5] However, at a young age she first started with gymnastics and general athletics and specialized in pole vaulting a few years later.

Her father is described as eager to deepen his technical know-how and seeking contact with international experts in pole vaulting and athletics for new training inputs.

[7][8] Grünberg participated in various international competitions and set several Austrian national records in pole vaulting.

At the European Championship in Zürich she cleared a height of 4.45m which meant breaking the Austrian record and reaching the final of 13 participants.

Her parents were present when the accident happened, the father was coaching, the mother filmed her jump for video analysis like they usually did in trainings.

Austrian and international sportspeople, celebrities and citizens participated in benefit events for Kira Grünberg and donation campaigns were started.

[5][12][18] Kira Grünberg talks about her sports career, the accident and how she dealt with the consequences in her autobiography My jump into a new life (Original title: Mein Sprung in ein neues Leben, only available in German).