China News Service, August 7th. Eight years ago today, China's legendary 110m hurdles Liu Xiang ushered in the curtain call of his Olympic career in London. Different from the past, this time, his determined and tragic figure is deeply imprinted in the history of Chinese track and field, and it is also in the hearts of the people.
Liu Xiang fell
On the afternoon of August 7, 2012, Beijing time, in the men's 110-meter hurdles preliminaries for the London Olympics, Liu Xiang opened his third Olympic journey in anticipation. Then, this first show fell into a trough instantly after the starting gun was fired.
After starting, Liu Xiang fell to the ground while crossing the first hurdle, and then clutched his ankle in pain. Helplessly out of the preliminaries, he staged his curtain call in the Olympics in this tragic way.
This is also the swan song left to the Olympic Games by the former world record holder. After the game, Liu Xiang's injury was diagnosed as Achilles tendon rupture after the game.
Liu Xiang jumped to the finish line
Finally, Liu Xiang, who was injured and unable to persist, mustered the courage to insist on jumping to the finish line with one leg. And the scene of him leaning over and kissing the railing made countless TV viewers cry. Seeing this scene, the players in the same group also paid tribute to the legend.
On May 17, 2015, Liu Xiang announced his retirement, leaving behind countless emotional memories.
Liu Xiang kisses the fence
He is the first athlete in the history of Chinese athletics and track and field, as well as the first in the history of Asian track and field to integrate the Olympic champion, the indoor and outdoor world championships, the IAAF Grand Prix final champion, and the world record holder.
In 2004, Liu Xiang took the lead in the Athens Olympics, tying the world record set by British player Colin Jackson with a time of 12.91 seconds and won the championship. In 2006, in the Swiss Lausanne Super Grand Prix, he broke the 13-year world record with 12.88 seconds to win the championship.
On August 31, 2007, in the men's 110-meter hurdles final of the 11th World Track and Field Championships, Liu Xiang won his first World Championships in 12.95 seconds, and also set a "nine miracle" story.
Even on the eve of the London Olympics in June 2012, Liu Xiang relied on his own efforts to rank first in the world's 110-meter hurdles, and returned to the top of the list five years later.
Although the final outcome is not perfect, Liu Xiang, as the banner of Chinese sports in those years, created too many surprises and touches for us. (Finish)