Hero Liu Xiang back on track, finishes 2nd

By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-21 07:53

Liu Xiang (left) of China nearly chases down Terrence Trammell of the US during the men's 110m hurdles at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix last night. Liu, who returned after a 13-month absence from injury, finished second. Gao Erqiang

SHANGHAI: Although hurdler Liu Xiang settled for second place at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix yesterday, the comeback hero did not disappoint in his first race after a 13-month absence due to a foot injury.

The Chinese superstar was narrowly beaten by current world No 2 Terrence Trammell of the United States in the 110 m hurdles, though both finished in 13.15 seconds.

"I almost could not control myself after I started to run because I was so charged by the enthusiastic audience here," Liu said after the race. "After the start, I wasn't trailing behind Trammell so I tried my best to chase him."

China's Shi Dongpeng took the bronze, pushing four-time world champion Allen Johnson of the US into fourth place.

In front of some 30,000 hometown supporters, Liu seemed relaxed before the race yesterday and even made faces to the camera before posing at the starting line.

It is widely known that Liu limped out of the first round at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games due to a severe injury to his Achilles' tendon.

Liu did not start well but came from behind in the last 10 m to cross the finishing line nearly neck-to-neck with Trammell.

Immediately after the race, the audience gave Liu a standing ovation.

"I didn't think I could finish so fast," he said. "This is my first race after such a long time. I will train harder for future races."

In a test-run before the competition, Liu ran a time of 13.70 sec against the wind. He tried to downplay the test-run results before the race, stressing that the training time was not important.

His strong comeback surprised his coach, as well as his opponent.

"I told him to control himself in the race but I saw he tried with his best to fight in the latter part," said Liu's coach Sun Haiping. "He didn't compete for a long time, so he should have been excited by the fans here. I'm very satisfied with his result. I didn't think he could finish so fast."

Johnson, Liu's archrival and idol, praised Liu's strong return.

"I know with (Liu) that you never know (what he could achieve)," said 38-year-old Johnson.

"I was surprised but I wasn't totally surprised ... 13.1 is fast, especially for a comeback race. It shows that he is back."

(China Daily 09/21/2009 page1)