I know there is a question, "Why do Chinese athletes have a short lifespan?" Liu Xiang's name is mentioned — in fact, another point that Liu Xiang is often overlooked is that he has maintained his long-term peak level despite injuries.
Injuries accompanied Liu Xiang throughout his career, the two main parts, the thigh and the Achilles tendon/heel.
Among them, the injury to the Achilles tendon/heel part can be called the "Achilles heel" of his career, because his heel bone is more prominent than others, as long as there is high-intensity training, it will definitely be out of condition, there is no cure, only relief.
——Many people may not know that Liu Xiang's Achilles tendon injury has appeared before the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, repeatedly, and has been diagnosed with a diagnosis that may plague his entire career.
Even so, Liu Xiang still created two peaks in his career, and both peaks lasted very long — two serious injuries (both of which were representative of the olympic games, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics), liu xiang quickly returned to the same level as before.
Liu Xiang's athens victory in 2004 also disrupted the rhythm of Dukure
At the 2012 London Olympics, Liu Xiang broke his Achilles tendon and accidentally fell on the first hurdle, ending his last game in such an unfinished way
Everyone knows liu xiang in the middle of his career, and looks back at his starting point and finish line.
Liu Xiang officially practiced hurdles with Sun Haiping in 1999, when he was less than 16 years old, and three years later (2002), he set a world youth record + Asian record in the 110-meter hurdles ( 13.12 seconds ) , and won the gold medal at the Busan Asian Games (13.27 seconds) in the same year.
So since the age of 19, Liu Xiang has been the world's top 110-meter hurdles player. The following year, he won the bronze medal at the World Championships in St. Denis athletics in 13.23 seconds, which was also a medal with a very high gold content.
At the 2003 World Championships in Saint-Denis, 20-year-old Liu Xiang was second only to Trammell and idol Alain Johnson in 13.23 seconds, winning a bronze medal with a high gold content
Liu Xiang's last official match was the London leg of the Diamond League on July 13, 2012, less than two weeks before the Olympics.
That was also his 29th birthday.
There was rain in the race, and Liu Xiang easily won the first place in the group in the preliminaries of 13.27 seconds. Two hours later, in the final, he announced that he would not run because of "some forks in the ribs".
On July 13, 2012, the Diamond League London leg, the day was Liu Xiang's 29th birthday, and it was also the last time he completed the game in his career
Don't think that 13 seconds 27 is Liu Xiang's strength at that time. In the preliminaries, he obviously closed and gave up the final for the sake of caution.
Before preparing for the London Olympics, Liu Xiang had participated in three consecutive Diamond Leagues and achieved good results:
13.09.09.09. Kawasaki Station on May 6, the first outdoor race of 2012, a "large-scale exercise training class" before the Olympic Games;
On May 19, Shanghai 12.97 seconds broke the record of 12.99 seconds;
On June 3, Eugene stood at 12.87 seconds, equaling the world record in the event of overspeed winds.
So as long as the injury is not too serious to play, In fact, Liu Xiang, who was already in the late stage of his career at the time, fully has the ability to run into 13 seconds and even hit the world record again.
He was still the most competitive 110m hurdles player in the world at the time, no less than Robles, Oliver and Merritt.
On May 19, 2012, the Diamond League Shanghai leg broke the record of 12.99 seconds in 12.97 seconds
It is no exaggeration to say that from the age of 19 to the age of 29, a full decade, in addition to injuries and recovery adjustments, Liu Xiang has maintained a very strong competitiveness.
This competitiveness not only means that the intercontinental competition can reach the final (top 8), but also includes standing, winning gold, breaking records, quite terrifying.
Several of these pinnacle nodes:
21 years old, 2004 Athens Olympic Games, 12 seconds 91 seconds to win gold, breaking the Olympic record + equalizing the world record;
23 years old, 2006 IAAF Super Grand Prix Lausanne, 12.88 seconds, a new world record for 13 years;
24 years old, at the 2007 Osaka Athletics World Championships, he ran 12.95 seconds in the ninth lane to win the championship, achieving the Olympic champion + world champion + world record Grand Slam;
26 years old, 2009 Diamond League Shanghai, the same time as Trammell is 13.15 seconds, only because the effective part is slightly slower to touch the finish line, runner-up; in the same year, the National Games + Asian Championships both achieved three consecutive championships;
28 years old, at the 2011 Daegu World Championships, he was interfered with by Robles' thugs, 13.27 seconds, and won the silver medal in the supplement;
At the age of 29, in the 2012 Diamond League Shanghai, he broke the club record in 12.97 seconds, and ran into 13 seconds + after nearly 4 years, creating the best time of the year; in the same year, the Diamond League Eugene station, 12.87 seconds super wind speed (2.4 m/ s) equalized the world record (the result was valid, the record was not recognized).
The peak is long and stable, and it is rare to return to peak status very quickly from permanent injuries + two serious injuries.
It is difficult to say how many of the world's historical players can find out how many Liu Xiang are like this; it seems difficult to stand up for Liu Xiang's short sports life.
In the 2011 Diamond League Eugene station, Oliver played 12.94 seconds to beat Liu Xiang to create a record, and the following year Liu Xiang broke the record
Correspondingly, look at Liu Xiang's (1983) major competitors in the same period.
Terrence Trammell (1978), David Oliver (1982), David Payne (1982), Raj Dukuret (1983), Aris Merritt (1985), Daron Robles (1986), Jason Richardson (1986):
Trammell's career began with a silver medal in 13.16 seconds at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and remained highly competitive until 2010. Best time 12.95 seconds. He retired from injury before the Beijing Olympics, and lost to Liu Xiang at the Athens Olympics and the Osaka World Championships, with 2 Olympic silver medals + 3 world championship silver medals in his career;
Liu Xiang vs Trammell
Oliver started his career late and did not officially identify the hurdles until after graduating from university, maintaining a high standard from 2005 to 2015, with six years ranking first in the world's top three or two years (2010 and 2013). 1 world championship gold medal + 1 Olympic bronze medal in his career.
In the 2010 Diamond League shanghai leg, Oliver beat Liu Xiang and set a record of 12.99 seconds, but two years later Liu Xiang re-established it in 12.97 seconds;
Liu Xiang vs Oliver
David Payne was competitive between 2004 and 2009, winning 3 world championship bronze medals + 1 Olympic silver medal in his career. The representative event directly against Liu Xiang was the 2007 Osaka World Championships, where Liu Xiang defeated Trammell and him to achieve a personal Grand Slam;
At the 2007 Osaka World Championships, David Payne won the bronze in 13.02 seconds and lost to Liu Xiang in 12.95 seconds
Dukulei, who was the same age as Liu Xiang, became famous earlier than Liu Xiang and was once regarded as Liu Xiang's lifelong enemy. In Athens in 2004, Ducuré was led by Liu Xiang to a chaotic rhythm and then fell, and many people knew this French guy for the first time.
But Ducure's career has also had ups and downs, and although he retired later, he has actually bid farewell to his peak since 2012. With the ability to run 13 seconds (the best 12.97 seconds), Dukure peaked and did not play well at the Olympics, and never won an Olympic medal (preferably fourth in the Beijing Olympics).
At the Helsinki World Championships in 110 meters hurdles, Dukuré won the championship in 13.07 seconds, Liu Xiang finished second in 13.08 seconds, and veteran Alan Johnson finished third in 13.10 seconds, and the competition was quite fierce.
Liu Xiang vs Dukure
Merritt, the world record holder for 12.80 seconds in the 110m hurdles, has a career mainly from 2011 to 2017, with world records such as an Olympic gold medal (London) and a single world championship failed to achieve a Grand Slam.
Merritt and Liu Xiang's peaks are almost staggered, and there are not many direct conversations. The two had a direct encounter at the 2011 Daegu World Championships, when Merritt finished fifth;
Radish Silk very badly ruined Liu Xiang's performance, which was in quite good form at the time, and merritt (far left) had just begun to enter the best state of his career
Robles once set a new world record of 12.88 seconds for Liu Xiang in 2008 with 12.87 seconds, which is Liu Xiang's main opponent in the same period, and he has also played directly with Liu Xiang many times in his career, including the time when Daegu's hitter was cancelled from the gold medal, and he completely missed his personal Grand Slam. The main shining point of Robles's career began in 2004, and his results from 2006 to 2010 were more competitive, and like Liu Xiang, the London Olympic DNF faded out of the stage.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics were supposed to be seen as the pinnacle of Roberts and Liu Xiang's duel, and liu Xiang withdrew, and Robles easily won the championship in 12.93 seconds.
The thugs with obviously deliberate blocking actions also caused Robles to be cancelled from the world championship gold medal
Jason Richardson had many minor injuries in the early stages of his career plus college studies, and it was only after 2010 that jason Richardson officially performed his talent in the 110m hurdles. He also won the gold medal (13.16 seconds) from the Daegu World Championships batman incident and the silver medal at the Following Year's London Olympics (13.04 seconds). Best time 12.98 seconds.
Compared with these major competitors in the same period, Liu Xiang's career length, peak height, peak maintenance time, number of honors won, awards in major competitions such as the Olympic Games/World Championships and intercontinental events such as the Diamond League... None of them fell behind.
There is no such thing as "shorter exercise life".
As of June 11, 2021), Liu Xiang accounted for 6 times in the top 50 and 8 times in the top 100