The national hero, world champion of the 110-meter hurdles in the Athens Olympics, Liu Xiang, dramatically quit this morning’s race due to his inflamed tendon.
BEIJING (AP) — Defending Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China pulled out of the 110-meter hurdles Monday, walking away from the blocks after coming up lame during a false start.
Before the game was going to start, in blows of exclamations, Liu attempted to adjust himself by running over past 2 hurdles. But soon he stopped, bending his brows painfully. After another racer’s fall start and as the game’s going to start again, Liu quit. The stadium burst into a sea of shock, regret and sorrow, then into silence.
Actually, the ominous sign had been spotted yesterday. Sun Haiping, Liuxiang’s coach, revealed that Liu’s heel was aching during the training on August 16. However, though Liu’s injury was confirmed, most Chinese tried to believe it’s simply a smoke bomb.
In Fanfou.com, the Chinese Twitter, sea of comments emerged soon after Liu left his lane with a painful expression.