The record was ratified by the IAAF. Leading up to the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Liu bore national expectations of a repeat victory on home soil. China deemed another gold medal from Liu essential for a successful Olympics.
On August 18, Liu withdrew from the Olympic m hurdles event. He walked off the track after a false start by another runner in his first-round heat, leaving the crowd at the Beijing National Stadium in stunned silence, confusion and tears. According to China's track and field association, Liu suffered from a recurrence of chronic inflammation in his right Achilles tendon. Liu made a public apology to the Chinese media the following day, saying he could "do nothing but pull out of the race" because of his foot injury.
He made a vow to make a comeback for the next Olympics. What has happened is incredible, but I will keep on working very hard in the future, and you can expect more miracles to happen. The World record-equalling time of At least it was not unexpected, as the young prodigy has made steady progress to rise to the top, and be regarded as one of the major forces in sprint hurdling.
When he was younger, the feats of table tennis star Deng Yaping - who won gold at the Barcelona Olympics - used to inspire him, and he would dream of emulating them. Xiang was selected to the Junior Sports School of Putuo District of Shanghai, to practice high jumping as a fourth grader in the primary school.
But after a bone test showed that he would not grow much taller, he was asked to give up sports. His mother Ji Fenhua and his father Lin Xuegen, a taxi driver, also wanted him to study computer engineering, or some other profession befitting his middle-class Shanghai upbringing, but Liu decided to go on.
He chose the hurdles, he says, because they involved elements of science that other events lacked. Liu started serious training for the m Hurdles in , and after three months he had already clocked But, like most mothers I guess, my mum was against the idea.
She wanted me to study. But, after I began to have some success, she came to accept my decision to be a competitive athlete. Now both my parents support me a lot. The teenager was a disappointing fourth in the m Hurdles final, when the day before he had superbly won his semi-final heat in a new national Junior record Despite missing out on the medals, and his presence going somewhat unnoticed, it was clear that Xiang had what it takes to become a champion.
It was a cold summer evening in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday 2 July Standing behind the starting blocks, ready to compete in his first European Grand Prix meeting the then year-old Xiang was looking straight at the finish line, concentrating on the task ahead of him. Incidentally, he defeated Olympic silver medallist Mark Crear, and Florian Schwartoff who had been third in Atlanta.
Not bad for a first Grand Prix meeting. After the race, Xiang went up to Allen Johnson his all-time favourite and idol , and asked for his autograph, unaware that two years later he would be the one to sign tonnes of autographs.
To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites. Hong Kong — Liu Xiang remains China's only Olympic gold medal winner on the track 17 years after his triumph in Athens, but for Su Bingtian — Asia's fastest man — one of his country's greatest heroes is more than an icon.
Su finished sixth in the men's meters final on Sunday after qualifying joint-fastest to give China its most high-profile male athletics performance since Liu won gold in the m hurdles in Athens in He was the pioneer of China's athletics sport. Su's breakthrough in Tokyo reminded Chinese audiences of Liu, who became burdened with the entire nation's expectations of further success after his gold in Athens.
Liu quit the Beijing Olympics after an injury in the final and failed to qualify to the semi-final in London after tripping over a hurdle in his heat. There Su co-authored a paper in on the historical developments of China's men's m race, analyzing how scientific training methods and healthy competition within the team have contributed to the progress of the sport in China.
The paper went viral on Monday after his race on Sunday, with Chinese fans in awe of the progress made by Su, despite approaching his 32nd birthday later this month.
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