Liu Drops out of Olympics

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• published: 19 Aug 2008
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I read an article Liu: Unbearable pain forced me out of Olympics By ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer 15 hours, 8 minutes ago Printable View Return to Original * Buzz Up * Print BEIJING (AP)—Liu Xiang, China's great hope for track glory at the Beijing Games, said he was sorry for his shock withdrawal from the Olympics but that he had no choice because pain from an injured foot became unbearable. "There's so many people concerned about me and who support me. I feel very sorry. But there's really nothing I could do," a downcast, disconsolate Liu told China Central Television in an interview aired Tuesday. One of the intended superstars of a home team that is dominating the gold medal standings, Liu received an outpouring of sympathy from a stunned nation of 1.3 billion people Tuesday, the day after he pulled out of the 110-meter hurdles. "The look that brought tears to billions of eyes," read the caption of the China Daily's front-page photo of Liu grimacing in pain shortly before he gave up hope of racing. A top official of the ruling Communist Party wished him a speedy recovery so he could "struggle harder for the national glory." In the television interview, Liu appeared pale and tired in a plain white T-shirt with a small sponsor's logo, rather than the flashy red that has characterized the uniform of China's athletes at the games. A drop of perspiration clung to the corner of his left eyebrow as he spoke in a steady voice against a white background. The interview was recorded Monday night and aired in part on Tuesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Liu, 25, was the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold medal on the track when he won the 110-meter hurdles in Athens four years ago. He became a star to rival NBA hero Yao Ming at home and a posterboy worth millions for the Beijing Games. His surprise withdrawal on Monday shocked China. His coach was among those who wept openly. "I didn't feel right when I was warming up before the race," Liu said, in Xinhua's translation of his comments. "I knew my foot would fail me. I felt painful when I was just jogging." He talked about running a competitive time just two weeks ago. "I didn't know why things turned out this way," he said. "I wanted to hang on. But I couldn't. It was unbearable. If I had finished the race, I would have risked my tendon. I could not describe my feeling at that moment." Speculation swirled for weeks that Liu was injured, and he trained in seclusion before he first appeared at the Bird's Nest on Monday. In his warmup, Liu grimaced through clenched teeth and limped gingerly after clearing two hurdles, but took to the blocks anyway for the first heat of the event for which he was favorite. When the starter's gun fired, Liu launched out of the blocks but started hobbling immediately after the gun fired again to signal another's hurdler's false start. Rather than go back to the blocks, he headed inside the stadium. Team doctors applied traditional Chinese medicine treatments to bring down the swelling on Liu's Achilles tendon after he returned to the athlete's village, according to Liu's Web site, which had no further details. In the interview, Liu signaled he feared doing more damage to the tendon if he did not pull out of the race, but vowed he would return to competition. "I know I have the ability, once my foot recovered," Liu said, according to an Associated Press translation. "Now the most important thing is to heal my injury. I still have a chance next year, after all I'm still at the peak. I must be optimistic, and I shouldn't blame everyone and everything but not myself. I will not easily give up." Vice President Xi Jinping, the most-senior Communist Party leader overseeing the games and widely viewed as a successor to President Hu Jintao, sent a message to the General Administration of Sport on Monday expressing sympathy and encouragement for Liu. The country's leaders are paying attention to Liu's injury and hope he is able to quickly return to health, said the message, which was printed on the front page of the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party, and other papers. "We all understand that Liu quit the race due to injury," Xi said. "We hope he will relax and focus on recovery. We hope that after he recovers, he will continue to train hard and struggle harder for the national glory." Liu's sponsors also signaled full support for their star athlete, taking out full-page ads in English- and Chinese-language papers and running spots on television. "Love the glory. Love the pain. Love sport even when it breaks your heart," said part of one Nike ad, over a photo portrait of a clear-eyed, unsmiling Liu looking directly into the camera lens.