Xiang Liu
On May 23,Liu participated in a test event at the Beijing National Stadium.[4] He pulled out of the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on May 31,citing hamstring problems.On June 8,he false-started at the Prefontaine Classic at Eugene,Oregon.Liu skipped the entire European circuit,preferring to train in China instead.
Leading up to the Summer Olympics in Beijing,China,Liu bore national expectations of a repeat victory on home soil.[5] China deemed another gold medal from Liu essential for a successful Olympics.[4] On August 18,Liu withdrew from the Olympic 110 metre hurdles.He walked off the track after a false start by another runner in his first-round heat[5],leaving the crowd at the Beijing National Stadium in stunned silence[6] and tears.[5][4]
According to China's track and field association,Liu suffered from a recurrence of chronic inflammation in his right Achilles’ tendon.[4] Liu's coach,Sun Haiping addressed the media during a press conference and stated that the hurdler has been hampered by a tendon injury for six or seven years.[6] He commented on the situation,saying "We worked hard every day,but the result was as you see and it is really hard to take"[6] Sun,who was in tears for most of the press conference,stated that Liu would be unable to compete for the remainder of 2008.Liu made a public apology to the Chinese media the following day,saying he could "do nothing but pull out of the race" because of his foot injury.He believes that the injury would not prevent him from future competitions and vows to "come back" for the next Olympics.[7]