Back on track: Liu Xiang in photo finish in Shanghai
Monday, 21st September 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
What person in China woke up this morning with a bigger sense of relief than Liu Xiang (刘翔)? Last night his second place photo finish, in 13.15 seconds, finally put to rest questions of whether the 110-meter hurdler could return to world class form after foot surgery. While the winner, the USA's Terrence Trammell, took a cool victory lap, it was Liu who made the kind of dramatic gesture you might expect from a world championship performance, not a second-place finish at a relatively minor international race. He flopped to the track in his hometown with a huge grin on his face."I had not expected to run so fast," Liu said, according to this report from Xinhua. "It's just beyond my imagination."
When he became the first Asian man to win Olympic track and field gold in 2004, Liu shattered a big stereotype and gave Chinese athletes and fans a new sense of pride and hope. In the run-up to the Olympics last year, Liu's gold medal defense was the most anticipated event for the host country. So when he limped and winced his way out of the Bird's Nest at last year's preliminaries, it was a low point for China in an otherwise very successful Olympic campaign.
Just over a year after the games and about 10 months after undergoing successful surgery in Houston for an Achilles tendon injury, Liu took to the starting blocks yesterday at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. It was the first time that the man who once held the sport's "Triple Crown" (world champion, Olympic champion, world record holder), had laced up his spikes since May of 2008 in a Beijing test event.
Liu, who some people (ahem--me) speculated was finished as an elite competitor and would retire this year, is back, and is certainly headed to a billboard and magazine cover near you (if you live in China, that is). Two of his sponsors, Nike and Amway, bought out half-page front page ads on Chinese newspapers to accompany news of the victory today. Those advertisers are probably nearly as relieved as Liu, who they helped make into China's second highest paid athlete after Yao Ming.
Notably absent from Sunday's race, however, were the current Olympic champion and world record holder (Dayron Robles, Cuba) and the current world champion (Ryan Brathwaite, Barbados). Brathwaite won in Berlin with a time of 13.14 and Robles broke Liu's record last summer, clocking a 12.87. So while Liu proved yesterday that he can run with some of the world's best, he still has work to do if he wants to challenge for gold at the next world or Olympic championships.
Tags: 110-meter hurdles, athletics, Liu Xiang, track and field
China's next hope in the hurdles takes AYG gold
Monday, 6th July 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Lu Jiateng image: Channel News Asia
Tags: 110-meter hurdles, Asian Youth Games, Liu Xiang, Lu Jiateng, track and field
The Liu Xiang news ticker
Thursday, 8th January 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
For a rehabilitating athlete at least several months away from his next competition, Liu Xiang is getting a lot of press lately. The former 110-meter hurdles Olympic and world champion is in Houston after undergoing surgery for the Achilles' injury that kept him out of competition at the Beijing Olympics in August. Dr. Tom Clanton, the Houston Rockets' team doctor, removed bone spurs from Liu's foot December 5 (ESPN).His coach has said that Liu is unlikely to be ready to compete in time for the world championships next August in Berlin. The Shanghai Daily reports that Liu's next race may be the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix next September. And meanwhile, the People's Daily ran a story about a text message that Liu sent his father, promising that in 2009, "I will protect myself and I will get stronger."
While not rehabbing, Liu Xiang is drinking Cokes with Yao Ming, this crafty little soft ad from Coca-Cola would have you believe.
Tags: 110-meter hurdles, athletics, Coca-Cola, Liu Xiang, sports marketing, track and field, Yao Ming
Xie wins silver in 110-meter hurdles, Liu Xiang to see U.S. doctors
Tuesday, 23rd September 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
In a very thin field at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, China's Xie Wenjun took the silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles, the event that his teammate Liu Xiang failed to defend his Olympic gold in this summer.Xie ran the race in 13.47, coming in behind David Oliver of the USA, who won bronze at the 2008 Olympics. It was a personal best for the 18-year-old Xie.
In other news regarding China's favorite track and field event, Liu Xiang, who was in attendance at the Shanghai Grand Prix, is heading to the United States in October, for a medical evaluation of the injury that kept him out of the Beijing Olympics. According to Chinese media reports, there is debate over whether he should seek surgery or use traditional Chinese methods to address his chronic Achilles heel condition.
Tags: 110-meter hurdles, athletics, Liu Xiang, track and field, Xie Wenjun