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Tonganoxie athlete sets bone-breaking record

By Shawn Linenberger - | Jul 3, 2001

Many people regard No. 13 as bad luck, but for Tonganoxie’s Andrea Korb, Nos. 1-12 have been the black cat crossing her path.

Korb, who will be a senior at Tonganoxie High School in the fall, has broken 12 bones in less than two decades.

Her first injury came when she broke her collarbone at the age of 5. When she was 8, she broke her left pinky bone. And in the fifth grade, she broke four bones in her arm all for a good cause.

“I challenged a boy to a bike race,” Korb said. “I fell off the bike, but I won the race.”

Korb’s latest injuries occurred playing

high school sports. Her sophomore year, she broke four bones in her left wrist pole vaulting, and on the last play of the 2001 softball season, she broke two bones in her right wrist. The cast for that injury came off last Tuesday.

Korb said the track injury was the worst, but she thinks her misfortune won’t and shouldn’t stop her from continuing to play sports.

“I’ve thought ‘man, I’m an unlucky person,'” she said, “but there’s never been a time when I thought I needed to stop playing. It’s just part of the game.”

The injuries have made Korb’s parents feel a little more apprehensive at games, but they’ve gotten used to Andrea’s injuries.

“We kind of laugh,” Andrea said. “We get our money’s worth out of the insurance.”

Korb, who has acquired nicknames such as Gimpy and One-arm, looks to continue her athletic career in college.

On the top of Korb’s list is Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo., where she hopes to play basketball. Although no broken bones were registered in that sport, Korb did have a major ankle sprain during basketball season.

Because she’s endured these numerous injuries, Korb has acquired another talent predicting the weather.

“It hurts when the weather gets really, really extreme,” Korb said.