Liu Xiang to Retire

Flo'da boy wrote:

Sad to see him go, especially after talk over the last year or so of working towards a comeback.

http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0403/c90779-8873820.html

I hope Wenjun and a new generation of young Chinese prove worthy successors!

Why he not move up to 800 meters, MORON?

Unfortunately, not many people come all the way back from a ruptured achilles, and there's simply no margin for error in the 110H. His career was over in the Bird's Nest.

coach d wrote:

Unfortunately, not many people come all the way back from a ruptured achilles, and there's simply no margin for error in the 110H. His career was over in the Bird's Nest.

I largely agree, though he did manage a silver (should have been gold!) in Daegu you might recall haha. But your point is valid. He couldn't stay healthy and I assume this time the fitness just didn't return

Don't rupture your Achilles, ever. Nearly every newton of force you apply to running goes through that tiny cross section of soft tissue. It has to be perfect.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Don't rupture your Achilles, ever. Nearly every newton of force you apply to running goes through that tiny cross section of soft tissue. It has to be perfect.

Thanks for that gem

Bad Wigins wrote:

Don't rupture your Achilles, ever. Nearly every newton of force you apply to running goes through that tiny cross section of soft tissue. It has to be perfect.

So that was my mistake. Too bad I didn't read this a few years ago, because I totally wouldn't have ruptured it if I had known that.

Of course everyone knows it. But maybe if you'd beaten yourself over the head with it more often, you'd have stayed healthy.

Hurdlers look back on the career of Liu Xiang

http://spikes.iaaf.org/post/liu-xiang-legend-of-the-hurdles?utm_content=bufferb4e50&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

His retirement was on the front page of cnn earlier today. Pretty amazing coverage.

Catching on wrote:

His retirement was on the front page of cnn earlier today. Pretty amazing coverage.

^http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/07/sport/liu-xiang-retirement/

I can't imagine how hard it's been having the weigt of a nation like China on your shoulders. But he was a truly inspiring athlete to watch. He has inspired a whole generation, though and I have no doubt that the next generation of hurdlers from China and around the world will (and may already) have been inspired by the great man

A lot of threads pop up asking how much money the pros are making, and those this is not indicative of American dostamce runners, Ato Boldon just tweeted that, at the height of his career, Liu's combined sponsorships were valued at 162 million

https://twitter.com/atoboldon/status/586176245597130752