Lot of criticism and many tears after China’s top champion Liu Xiang pulls out
Even before coming into the stadium Liu was limping, visibly in pain and not very focused. During the warm-ups, he kicked a panel with his right leg, perhaps to get rid of muscular pain.
After another runner false-started the heat he staggered out of the block pulling up at the first hurdle. Whilst the other athletes walked back to their starting points, he walked away into the exit tunnel with a hand on his right leg.
“Liu Xiang has two injuries, one in his foot and one in his leg,” his sobbing coach and mentor Sun Haiping said. “One of the injuries is an accumulated injury. This injury might have happened six or seven years ago. We don't know when he was hurt. But it has flamed up over the years.”
During the year rumours about his injuries were always denied. As late as yesterday Deputy Sports Minister Cui Dalin said: "He is normal."
Liu was the first Chinese to win the 110 hurdles in Athens in 2004 with a world record at 12.91 seconds. He “only” won silver at the 2005 World Championship, had a lacklustre 2006 and made a comeback in 2007 winning the 2007 World Championship in Osaka (Japan).
Like all other Chinese athletes this year he was closeted and took part in only four races with mixed results.
On 23 May he posted a 13.18 time in the Bird’s Nest, much slower than his major rivals, including Dayron Robles, the Cuban who broke his world record in June with a 12.87 time.
Many now have accused him of making up his injuries because he could not take the pressure and was afraid of Cuban Dayron Robles, especially after China won eight gold medals yesterday and is leading the United States in the gold medal count.
Wang Wei, BOCOG executive director, said however that Liu did “a lot of work [. . .]. I am sure it is an injury on his leg. He has not pulled out because of the pressure.”
Feng Shuyong, the China athletics team's head coach, said the injury had recurred in training on Saturday and worsened on Monday morning. “This morning he felt the pain intensify. Even though he felt the pain he decided to compete in the first heat.”
Thousands of Chinese tried everything to get a ticket for the final of the 100 hurdles on 21 August. Some slept in front of ticket offices; others paid scalpers ten times the nominal price for a ticket. Everyone was certain that a Chinese athlete would beat the rest of the pack.
Fans are not discouraged though. Amid the tears many of them said they would wait for the recovery of a champion who stood on the podium so many times, certain that their athletes would win many more gold medals than the United States despite the bad luck.
Several sponsors including Nike, Amway and Coke probably felt pain as well, as their money-maker turned suddenly into a potential loss-making liability.
In the blogosphere many Chinese heaped criticism on their champion and his coach for not coming clean with his real health conditions
In the afternoon though, much online criticism was removed. The Chinese government, including China’s Vice President Xi Jinping, defended the athlete, expressing warm regards and encouragement to him.
Still the Liu Xiang case has become a national problem.
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