Salukis' cheerleader breaks neck in fall, continues routine

[alicia-w]

Salukis' cheerleader breaks neck in fall
Yamaoka, 18, lands on head after mishap, is expected to make full recovery

Kristi Yamaoka wasn’t about to let a broken neck and concussion keep her school spirit down.

The Southern Illinois University cheerleader lost her balance during a routine Sunday and fell about 15 feet onto her head, hushing the crowd of about 14,000 as she was placed in a back and neck brace.

But the 18-year-old sophomore, in fair condition Monday and expected to make a full recovery from chipped neck vertebra and a concussion, let the stunned fans and national television audience know right away that she was going to be OK.


When the pep band fired up SIU’s fight song “Go Southern Go,” Yamaoka gave a two-handed thumbs up from the gurney, then moved her arms — the only things not strapped down — in time to the music and cheered.

“As long as my arms were functioning, I could do the fight song,” a groggy Yamaoka told The Associated Press by telephone Monday morning from Saint Louis University Hospital.

“I just knew that it would be a little easier for my team and squad to concentrate if they knew I was OK and not worrying about me,” she said. “I didn’t want the team to get distracted. I needed them to win for me.”

They did. The Salukis beat Bradley 59-46 in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final, earning their fifth-straight berth in the NCAA tournament.

Yamaoka’s routine from the gurney got her a standing ovation at the Savvis Center and mention later on national sports TV highlights packages. She said her season is over — doctors have told her not to perform for six weeks.

Yamaoka, of Springfield, Ill., said she doesn’t remember the midcourt tumble during a timeout with 3:25 left to play. She was supposed to dismount to the front of the human pyramid, where two cheerleaders were ready to catch her, said the squad’s cheerleading coach, Jennifer Graeff.

But Yamaoka lost her balance and tumbled off the back, landing on her head.

“It’s a little bit scary falling from 15 feet,” Yamaoka said. “That kind of thing doesn’t happen often.”


Yamaoka was motionless for a few minutes on the court, but says she recalls hearing SIU’s fight song and couldn’t resist leading the cheer as she was taken away in a brace.

“I do remember that, the fight song,” she said.

Graeff urged Yamaoka to stay still, fearing her cheer could hurt her more. But Graeff saw that the medical crews at Yamaoka’s side didn’t seem to have much of a problem with the impromptu show of spirit, so Graeff let it go.

“She didn’t want to leave the floor. She said, ’Just let me finish the game,”’ Graeff said Monday. “That’s Kristi — 100 percent school spirit.”

Yamaoka asked about whether anyone had videotaped the game, specifically the last 4 minutes, Graeff said.

“I just thought she wanted to see the fall,” Graeff said. “But she wanted to see how the Salukis did.”

[Scorpion]

Wow, how can you break your neck and still function?

[CajunMama]

Cheerleading stunts have gone too far. I was able to see the UCA National Cheerleading Championships in Orlando in January....some of the stunts they do just to win first place is unbelievable.

[HurryKane]

I saw the clip--I cannot believe the people carrying her off allowed her to do the cheer arm motions.

Scorpion, it says it was "just" a chipped vertebra, apparently the ol' spinal cord was intact.

[rainstorm]

she played through the pain!!!

[therock1811]

I saw this on Headline News last night. Got to admire her spirit, I'll tell you that.

[alicia-w]

The Missouri Valley Conference barred certain cheerleading stunts during this week's women's basketball tournament, a precaution taken after a Southern Illinois cheerleader plunged 15 feet and landed on her head.

Cheerleaders may not be launched or tossed and may not take part in formations higher than two levels during the tournament, MVC commissioner Doug Elgin said Tuesday.

Schools that advance to the NCAA or NIT tournaments may decide whether their cheerleaders should follow that ban, though the MVC will decide in May whether to make the restrictions permanent, Elgin said.

Salukis cheerleader Kristi Yamaoka was left with a concussion and a cracked neck vertebra when she fell during a timeout in Sunday's MVC men's championship game.

She drew national attention as she was wheeled off the court. She gave a two-handed thumbs up while strapped to a gurney, then made cheerleading moves with her arms in time to the band's playing of the school fight song.

The 18-year-old sophomore from Springfield, Ill., remained in fair condition Tuesday at Saint Louis University Hospital.

"I think the entire country was holding its collective breath when she got hurt," said Elgin, among the 14,000 onlookers at the Savvis Center. "I've never experienced that type of total silence there. It scared the daylights out of all of us."

Elgin said Monday's move was meant to prevent similar accidents, also taking into account such issues as risk management and insurance.

"We're very concerned when something like this happens," Elgin said. "We don't want to curtail unnecessarily anything viewed in cheerleading culture as routine. But we don't want the risk of serious or catastrophic injuries."

Yamaoka's accident came at a time of renewed awareness about cheerleading risks, with a study published in January in the journal Pediatrics showing that injuries in the activity more than doubled from 1990 through 2002 while participation grew just 18 percent over the same period.

During that 13-year period, the study estimates, 208,800 people ages 5 to 18 were treated at U.S. hospitals for cheerleading-related injuries. Most of the injuries were to 12- to 17-year-olds; nearly 40 percent were leg, ankle and foot injuries.