Liu Xiang, a high hurdler from China, has found success in the past and hopes to do so again. Earlier last year, he left the Beijing Olympics with an injury and walked out of the competition.
He is now preparing to return in September to his hometown Shanghai.
The 110-meter hurdles is a high jump event contested at indoor and outdoor track & field competitions. Used as an Olympic event in 1896 and 1904 as well as at the 1906 Intercalated Games, it has been introduced at the 1932 Olympics to be against 13 events and today consists of a sprint over 120 meters or, alternately, 140 meters (the start can only be set according to their type of occurrence).
Tens of thousands of runners have competed in the world championships during this period. Liu Xiang was a Chinese hurdler and long jumper, the first man to win two individual gold medals in World Championships history, both from 2002 Beijing.
The former 110-meter hurdles Olympic champion and world record holder Liu Xiang suffered a serious injury in December from ankle surgery. He is not currently recovering well and therefore will not be able to compete at the world championships this August.
Even his coach and mentor Sun Haiping said that if his recovery continued to go smoothly, Yang would be able to participate in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.
“We hope that Liu can run at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in September before participating in his third National Games in October. Regardless of what kind of result he gets, we will be able to show that he is back,” Sun told the China Daily.
“He also expected to defend his National Games title for the third time in October 2009. If he can achieve a time of 13.20 to 13.30 seconds, he will win the National Games. Such a result is not beyond him.”
In China’s 11th National Games, Liu represented Shanghai against participants from provinces all over the country in a competition that attracted more than 10,000 athletes. The Games take place from October 16-28 in Jinan, Shandong Province.
Liu was the then-world record holder for the 110 meters hurdles (12.88 seconds set in Lausanne in 2006), a record that has since been surpassed by Dayron Robles of Cuba.
His departure from the Bird’s Nest stadium before his first heat in the Olympic final is a rare disappointment for the Chinese during last August’s Olympics.
Despite his withdrawal from the competition and a brief backlash from some internet commenters, he remains one of China’s most popular athletes.
Even though Yiadom doesn’t want to rush his superstar teammate, he does believe the injury is now in a stage where Liu will be able to safely resume running.
Sun also said that if Liu’s foot isn’t completely healed, he’ll not be allowed to train in spiked shoes. “If his foot is not fully recovered he won’t be wearing spiked shoes and thus the return date is pushed back,” Sun concluded.
“All of our efforts are focused on helping Liu return to normal. That is why we don’t want him to push himself too hard in the competition.”
Conclusion
Liu Xiang is a high hurdler from China who has found success in the past and hopes to do so again. He was forced to leave the Beijing Olympics early due to an injury and is now preparing to return in September to his hometown Shanghai.
Even though he is not currently recovering well, his coach and mentor Sun Haiping said that if his recovery continued to go smoothly, Yang would be able to participate in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.
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