China Report - Liu Xiang Confirms Achilles Rupture After Crashing Out Again

(ATR) Liu Xiang is diagnosed with Achilles tendon rupture on his left foot after crashing out of the heats in the 110m hurdles on Tuesday.

The 2004 Olympic champion and former world record holder clattered into the very first hurdle and crashed to the track in London. However, he refused to give up like four years ago and picked himself up, cocked his right leg, and hopped the remaining 100m.

That night, Liu phoned his father, who is also in London watching his competition, to confirm that he had ruptured his Achilles and was waiting for an operation.

"He told me that he had been sent to the hospital of the Olympic Village to receive treatment, and now everything is fine," his father Liu Xuegen told Around the Rings.

"He confirmed that he may receive the treatment here in the U.K. but has not decided the date," Liu added.

Liu will receive surgery in London on Thursday. In the meantime, Chinese basketball great Yao Ming will visit him in the Olympic Village on Wednesday.

Suspicions Beforehand

Liu went to competition with high expectations again on Tuesday. However, what followed seemed a replay of Beijing four years ago when Liu withdrew from the Games because of a tendon injury in his right foot.

He refused to give up this time and hopped over the rest of the distance on his left foot. He also stopped at a hurdle and kissed it, earning a rousing ovation from the crowd of 80,000 in Olympic Stadium.

"What Liu Xiang did reflected the true Olympic spirit," said Chinese athletics team leader Feng Shuyong at a press conference afterwards.

"Winning is not so important, participation is what matters.We've all seen how hard it is for him. It is such a pity but his spirit is there.

"I think he made a lot of efforts over the past four years trying to do well. But in competitive sports, anything can happen," Feng said.

"The injury is the same one he had in Beijing. In the last several years, he received good medical care, but the injury is still there. An Achilles tendon injury is almost impossible to recover fully," Feng added.

Liu came to London under an injury cloud, although he has been preforming well this season. Some officials of the Chinese delegation implied the occurrence of Liu's injury but refused to release the detailed information before the race.

China's deputy chef de mission Duan Shijie told media that Liu got injured again Aug. 5 without offering further information.

"Liu has some good results this season, but you need to run three times here at the Games, so it will hurt his foot deeply. We hope Liu could face it bravely, but it is hard to predict the result," Duan said.

Liu's longtime coach Sun Haiping also revealed that Liu had struggled with his old injury again after the final training camp in Germany.

"In Germany, Liu felt pain in the foot where his old injury was. The doctor there said it was not serious. But I don't think so. I want to examine it further in London because I still worry about it," Sun said at Heathrow Airport last Friday when Liu arrived.

Support and Criticism Again

Liu's crashing out raised lots of controversial discussions again back in China. Central Television commentator Yang Jian cried out and began to choke up when Liu fell during the live broadcast.

"He is ending the London Games in the cruelest way you can imagine," said Yang.

"Liu Xiang is a warrior," he added.

Some people, including Liu 's opponents, showed their support to Liu.

"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," said British hurler Andrew Turner, who helped Liu into a waiting wheelchair after the race. "I rate him as one of the best hurdlers we've had in the world ever. I don't like to see that kind of thing."

The biggest favorite to win the men's event, American hurdler Aries Merritt, also wished Liu best luck.

"It was just terrible for that to happen to one of the best hurdlers of all time. It was just a tragedy. I hope he's OK," said Merritt.

"In the hurdles, if you hit a hurdle, to recover is almost impossible. Everyone here is so great — this is the Olympic Games. Everyone here is here to compete. It's just a shame that it had to happen to Liu. I was looking forward to competing against him," he added.

Jamaican 100m gold medalist Usain Bolt also called Liu Xiang a "true champion".

"It's really hard. I think he's one of the best," Bolt said.

"He's showing the world he can do great things. For him to push himself and come back last year and for this to happen, it's really sad for any athlete."

Most Chinese internet users praised and appreciated Liu's contribution for the country. However, some also questioned whether Liu was faking the fall to avid the embarrassment of competing in the final but losing the gold.

Reported by Tencent's Norman Li

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