An official from Shanghai’s municipal sports bureau has announced that injured Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang might undergo surgery in Britain after he crashed out of his 110m hurdles heat in London on Tuesday.
In the qualifier for the Men’s 110M hurdles, Liu Xiang fell at the first hurdle, crashing heavily into it with his left leading leg. But he earned a rousing ovation from the crowd as he hopped down the track to symbolically cross the finish line.
China’s athletics team leader Feng Shuyong said at a news briefing that the initial diagnosis was that Liu had ruptured his Achilles tendon. The injury is the same one he had in Beijing, which forced him out of the games 4 years ago. Liu Xiang holds the Olympic record of 12.91 seconds for the 110M hurdles. He set the record and became the first male Chinese track and field athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics, back in 2004 in Athens.