Former superstar hurdler Liu donates entire salary to charity

Olympic champion Liu Xiang said on Thursday that he completed a buyout with Shanghai sports authorities on Sept 1, receiving 494,000 yuan, and would have no further association with the sports bureau.

“On Sept 1, I had already completed the buyout and received 494,000 yuan in buyout compensation,” Liu said in a post on his personal social media account. “From now on, I will have no further association with the sports bureau.”

The 43-year-old former hurdler also said that he had received a total of 982,935 yuan in salary and subsidies from April 7, 2015, when he retired, until the completion of the buyout. Liu said he donated the entire amount to the China Charity Federation on Sept 2 for disaster relief following mudslides in the Xizang autonomous region.

Liu's latest post came after a public dispute over his post-retirement career arrangement triggered widespread discussion on Chinese social media.

On Aug 26, Liu posted a photo commemorating his victory at the 2004 Athens Olympics and said the sports authorities had asked him to choose between becoming a coach and accepting a buyout.

The Shanghai Sports Bureau said afterward that Liu was an outstanding athlete who had made significant contributions to Shanghai's sports development. It said the Shanghai Competitive Sports Training Management Center had communicated with Liu and would handle his post-retirement arrangement in accordance with relevant national and municipal regulations, mainly through organizational placement or self-employment.

In his latest post, Liu also addressed what he described as the issue of being “on the payroll but not at his post”, saying he had not received any formal position or post since his retirement.

“I have not received any official post or position since I retired,” Liu said. “I respect the rules and accept that there may have been oversights, but rules should never be an excuse.”

He questioned why the issue had taken 11 years to address, saying that the choice between becoming a coach and accepting a buyout had come too late to be regarded as a genuine career choice.

Liu said he hoped his case would encourage greater attention to the career transition of retired athletes and called for more flexible and diverse arrangements.

“Putting the issue of resettlement in the public eye is not about using public opinion to seek a third option,” he said. “I hope organizations will seriously consider the future of every retired athlete and treat them well.”

Liu won the men's 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics with a time of 12.91 seconds, becoming the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in a men's track event. He went on to win the world title in 2007 and set a world record of 12.88 seconds in 2006.