Since ancient times, the sprint race never seems to have cared for the yellow race, until that summer in 2004...
In the final of the men's 110m hurdles at the Athens Olympic Games, an Asian whirlwind swept through the Athens Olympic Stadium, making the world remember the name of this Chinese - Liu Xiang.
Before the Arrival of the Athens Olympics, Liu Xiang was just a young name for the whole world, and it can be said that before 2004, almost no one would have set their sights on this sprinter from China.
But in the first two IAAF events in Athens, Liu Xiang first defeated american hurdles king Alain Johnson to win the championship at the Osaka race in May, and then lost to the second place in the Rome race in July. With a fiery state, 21-year-old Liu Xiang made his debut on the Olympic stage in a low profile.
According to the format at that time, the athens Olympics men's 110m hurdles event had to run a total of 4 shots, Liu Xiang in the first two shots were quite good, respectively, as the first in the group successfully advanced to the semifinals. In the semi-finals, Liu Xiang ran a time of 13.18 seconds to advance to the final as the fourth, and surprisingly, his biggest rival Alain Johnson missed the final due to a mistake. Alain Johnson's unexpected withdrawal undoubtedly doubled Liu Xiang's desire for the championship in an instant.
In the early morning of August 28, Beijing time, the olympic stadium in Athens, the men's 110-meter hurdles final was about to start. In the final, Liu Xiang was in the fourth lane, and he was also played by the French genius Dukuré, the American star Trammell and the Cuban star Garcia.
Liu Xiang, who stood on the Olympic field for the first time, did not panic, and he focused on the preparation for the game according to his warm-up habits before the game. When the live announcer shouted "Liu Xiang's name", he saw his eyes looking forward firmly and his face full of confidence.
In the first shot of the race, the experienced American Player Trammell used the tactic of deliberately rushing to try to put pressure on other runners, which also meant that the runner who snatched the second shot would directly lose the competition.
After a short adjustment, the 8 runners returned to the starting line, listened to the referee's password to adjust the starting position, put their feet on the runner, and supported the ground with their hands... The game is on the verge of breaking out.
Bang！ The sound of the starting gun was so crisp that the 8 runners rushed to the finish line. Liu Xiang's starting response was very rapid, and with a strong and powerful 8-step upper column, he quickly established a leading advantage, the first column, the second column... Liu Xiang rushed to the front! Perfect action, harmonious rhythm, unparalleled speed, Liu Xiang did his best to run to the finish line!
By the time he reached the fifth hurdles, Liu Xiang had already established a lead of as many as one position, and the other players around him could not keep up with his rhythm at this time. The finish line is in front of him, Liu Xiang sprinted with all his strength and successfully crossed the finish line first!
12.91 seconds! Liu Xiang broke the record set by Alain Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics! It also tied the world record written by British legend Colin Jackson in 1993!
"Whoever said that the yellow race can't get the top eight in the Olympics, I must prove to everyone today that I am an Olympic champion!" After the game, Liu Xiang's domineering speech became a classic. At the subsequent award ceremony, the image of liu xiang jumping on the highest podium wearing a national flag was also deeply imprinted in the minds of sports fans around the world.
This mythical version of the Olympic gold medal also officially opened Liu Xiang's rule in the 110-meter hurdles, and at the 2006 IAAF Grand Prix in Lausanne, Liu Xiang broke the 13-year-old world record with a time of 12.88 seconds, and successfully won the 2007 World Athletics Championships, becoming a Grand Slam winner in the men's 110 meters hurdles.
Unfortunately, providence tricked people, in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Liu Xiang had no choice but to retire from the men's 110-meter hurdles preliminaries with a recurrence of his right Achilles tendon injury, and 4 years later in the London Olympic Games, he fell to the ground in the preliminaries and failed to qualify again, and the Olympic legend of the Chinese hurdles prince also came to an end.