Australia Olympic gymnast fitted with brace after aerial fall

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Olympic gymnast Lisa Skinner was fitted with a head brace on Monday after fracturing a vertebra when she fell during an aerial routine with Cirque du Soleil in Brisbane.

Skinner, 35, also broke her arm and briefly lost consciousness after falling during a hoop routine at least three meters off the ground on Sunday, her mother said.

Anne Skinner told a Brisbane radio station that her daughter was fitted with a halo brace to keep her head and neck still.

"It will take 6-12 weeks to heal, but her arms and legs work, which is the main thing," Anne Skinner told River 94.9 on Monday.

Lisa Skinner, who had toured previously with Cirque du Soleil, was a member of the Australian gymnastics team in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. She won gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Sunday's performance was temporarily stopped as she was taken to hospital but later resumed.

(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Julie Noce; Editing by Patrick Johnston)

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