On the 38th birthday of 110 metre hurdler Liu Xiang, we look at the reluctant celebrity and the man who put Chinese athletics on the map.
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China are among one of the most successful nations in the history of the Summer Olympics. However, they don’t always dominate in all sports. One such example of this is track and field events in athletics. Until 2016, they have only won 31 medals – 8 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze – in athletics events. This might seem like a decent number but by China’s high standards is not good enough. Indeed, until 2004, they had not won a single Olympic gold medal in men’s track and field events. That is, of course, until Liu Xiang came along.
The former 110 metre hurdler won a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics and remains a standard bearer for athletes in the country.
On his 38th birthday, we look at the reluctant celebrity and the man who put Chinese athletics on the map.
Xiang first came to the attention of many when he won gold at the East Asian Games in Osaka at 2001. In that same year, he won gold at the Universiade (University Games) and also the National Games of China.
That being said, he was not a favourite going into the 2004 Athens Olympics. This is despite beating the Asian record for men’s hurdles in 2002 as well as a bronze medal in the 2003 World Championships in Athletics.
In May 2004 at an IAAF Grand Prix race in Japan, Liu beat Allen Johnson with a personal best record time of 13.06 seconds. The thought that he could go under the 12-second mark seemed possible, but not likely.
Yet that is exactly what he did at Athens 2004. He clocked 12.91 seconds en route to a gold medal at the 100 metre hurdles race. That time equalled the world record time of Colin Jackson.
He also became the first man from China to achieve the athletics ‘triple crown’ – world record holder, world champion and Olympic champion.
Sadly, that would be the peak of his Olympics career. He was a medal favourite going into the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, but both times injury played spoilsport.
In 2008, he pulled out of the 110 metres hurdles event after the first heat due to injury. His sudden withdrawal saw the capacity Chinese crowd stunned into silence and, in some cases, tears.
It was worse in 2012. In the race itself he was unable to clear the first hurdle as he pulled his Achilles tendon. He crashed into the hurdle, hobbled through the race and was eventually sat in a wheelchair to be taken for medical treatment.
The injuries eventually took its toll and he retired in 2015.
Liu Xiang falls under the category of ‘reluctant celebrity’. He is not someone who necessarily sought the limelight but due to his achievements, he was very popular in his native country.
Prior to the 2008 Olympics, he graced the cover of Time magazine as they looked ahead to the Games.
His simple nature also connected well with the Chinese public, who related to him as a person. When he retired, he ended his statement with a heartfelt sentence. “Of course my heart is still willing, but my foot has again and again said no to me.”
His words after winning gold in 2004 were also memorable. He said his win “changes the opinion that Asian countries don’t get good results in sprint races. I want to prove to all the world that Asians can run very fast.”
Nevertheless, his time at the top also saw him earn sponsorships from Nike, Coca-Cola and Cadillac. And a permanent place in the hearts of Chinese fans.
