This video is from the 2004 Athens Games (click link). In the 110-meter hurdles, China's Liu Xiang won the country's first ever Olympic track-and-field gold medal.Liu is a legend in China of Yao Ming-like proportions. The entire country was buzzing about Liu defending his medal in the Beijing Games. However, he's been dealing with an Achilles injury that forced him to withdraw from a race in New York City this past spring.
The injury reared its ugly head again, as Liu dramatically withdrew from the 110-meter hurdles event in Beijing.
Smarting from the injury, Liu decided to give it a try ... but when a false start saw Liu come up completely lame, Liu took off his number and walked off the track. He went into the stadium tunnel and received treatment.
Needless to say, this is a sad day for the Chinese:
Instead, he sat against a wall alone, that smiling face that adorns so many advertising billboards now sullen. At that moment, some members of the Chinese media watching the scene unfold on a TV under the stands began to cry while thousands of his disappointed countrymen were heading for the exits.
"I feel very sad for Liu Xiang," said 67-year-old retiree Liu Guixiang. "After Liu Xiang's injury, I won't bother coming back to the Bird's Nest for more."
