Liu Xiang can still be London contender: US hurdler

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-04 09:13

Liu Xiang can still be London contender: US hurdler

China's hurdler Liu Xiang attends a news conference ahead of the IAAF Diamond League competition in Shanghai May 21, 2010. [Agencies]

RALEIGH, North Carolina - China's out-of-form former Olympic champion, Liu Xiang, can still be a contender at the 2012 London Games, according to veteran American hurdler Allen Johnson.

"I don't see why not. It's still two years away," Johnson, the 1996 Olympic 110m hurdles gold medallist, said in a telephone interview from his Irmo, South Carolina, training base on Wednesday.

"(Liu's problems) will pass in time, it's just a matter of working through," said Johnson, who underwent tendon surgery like Liu in 2008.

"A surgery like that, you are going to be 90 percent (recovered) within the first couple of months. But to get back to where you were before, it's going to take a good two years," said the 39-year-old Johnson.

"I am still recovering. My (left) ankle probably will never be 100 percent," said the four-time world outdoor champion. "I limp every morning when I wake up. If he (Liu) is going through anything like what I went through, I'm not surprised he has been having some residual issues. "

Liu, forced out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by an Achilles injury, has seldom been at top form since his surgery.

He lost to a compatriot for the first time in a major competition at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting last month and said after the third-place finish that London felt like a distant story.

David Oliver (R) of the US celebrates winning the men's 110m Hurdles with China's Liu Xiang at the IAAF Diamond League athletics in Shanghai May 23, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

"I just need to start with the most trivial things in my training without expecting too much for London," said the 2004 Olympic champion and former world-record holder.

Desire will play a big role in any Liu return, Johnson said.

"He will come back if he wants to," said the American, whom Liu has long admired. "He ran 13.15 last September. So he still has it.

"Hurdling is something that you can do for a long time.

"As long as your heart is still there and you are willing to put in the work, you can always come back and be a factor."

Reuters