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Aurora Olympic Gymnast Anna Li Disappointed After Being Sidelined By Fall

BIRMINGHAM, England (CBS) -- Aurora gymnast Anna Li, whose 2012 Olympic hopes came to a close this week when she fell in practice, tells WBBM Newsradio the emotional part is worse than the physical pain.

As WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller reports, training in Birmingham, England, with the other two alternates had been going well, Li, 23, tells WBBM Newsradio.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller reports

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But then, she slipped from the uneven bars, fell, and tore a ligament in her neck.

Li said she felt "immediate pain, and I felt it in my neck."

She says her mother, who's one of the coaches, was there.

"It was a very scary fall, so all the coaches there were very concerned," Li said. "I know for a fact that she was very worried and she hates replaying that moment when it happened. And I would hate to replay that moment as well, even as myself laying there on the floor."

But the injuries are far less difficult to deal with than the fact that she won't be competing in the Olympics at all now.

"It's really difficult to just suddenly sit out and rest," she said. "That's the difficult part. It's more emotional - than physically being hurt."

She says she and the other two alternates will go to London Saturday to watch the team perform.

As for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Li says that's a little far off to think about.

"Four years?" she laughs. "We'll see. Just taking it day by day…. Who knows? I'm on the older side for our sport. So you never know. I've been taking it day by day."

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