Recently, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the World Championships in Athletics, the World Athletics Federation launched a voting campaign inviting track and field fans around the world to select the greatest moments of each of the 40 World Championships in the men's and women's events. Among them, the Chinese flyer Liu Xiang is impressively listed! At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, he staged the "Ninth Miracle", becoming the first person in China to win a gold medal in the men's athletics event.
As we all know, the ninth lane is located on the outermost side of the entire stadium track and is the most unfortunate track in the straight event. Because, next to the ninth lane, there are not only high-speed cameras, photographers, but even referees and staff. Therefore, generally in the final, if you get to the 9th lane, the outside world will basically default to the player and the champion.
However, Liu Xiang beat Cuba's Robles and other good players to win the championship with a time of 12.95 seconds. Liu Xiang, who reached the top of the World Championships, also achieved the "Grand Slam" of world championship gold medal, Olympic gold medal and world record. It is worth mentioning that he was only 24 years old at that time.
Everyone knows the story later, a year later at the Beijing Olympics, Liu Xiang suffered an injury before the competition, so he had to choose to withdraw from the competition at his doorstep. This move of his also made himself the target of everyone. Although Liu Xiang made a comeback at the Guangzhou Asian Games, he also won a silver medal at the World Championships in Daegu. However, he was injured again at the London Olympics, this time with a torn Achilles tendon, which prevented him from returning to the top. When Liu Xiang jumped to the finish line with one foot and kissed the last hurdle, countless people unconsciously shed tears, including CCTV commentator Yang Jian.
In 2015, Liu Xiang announced his retirement, ending his 16-year hurdling career. Liu Xiang, who left the arena, also experienced emotional frustration, and his marriage with his wife Ge Tian lasted only 9 months. Later, Liu Xiang came together with Wu Sha, who is a pole vaulter, and the two have more common language and are currently very stable.
Unknowingly, 39-year-old Liu Xiang has been retired for 8 years. This time, he was nominated for the greatest moment of the World Championships, which is the biggest affirmation of his career resume and honors, and the People's Daily also published an article praising the Chinese flyer.
Just as the so-called loss knows how to cherish, the former Liu Xiang was attacked by the Internet because of his withdrawal, but now he is still the first person in the history of Chinese athletics. Although we also have elites like Su Bingtian who have broken through their limits countless times, Liu Xiang is a once-in-a-century genius among the yellow race, and it is estimated that it is difficult for athletes to replicate his brilliance in the future of Chinese and even Asian athletics.