Wednesday August 9, 2006
I’m bored, says Liu Xiang
BEIJING: Liu Xiang, the 110m hurdles world record holder and Olympic champion, has complained about having to compete with inferior athletes in China after winning his national championship for a sixth time.
“It is meaningless to compete here,” the China Daily newspaper quoted Liu as saying after he cruised to victory in 13.30 seconds at the national championships on Monday night in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.
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BORED: Liu Xiang, China's 110m hurdles world record holder and Olympic champion, gestures during a promotion event in Beijing yesterday. – AFPpic |
Liu's time was almost half a second slower time than his world record-breaking performance of 12.88 seconds in a race in Lausanne, Switzerland in July, yet he finished nearly a meter ahead of his nearest competitor.
Britain's Colin Jackson had previously held the world record for 13 years, with Liu equalling it at the 2004 Athens Olympics when he became the first Chinese male athlete to win a track gold.
Liu has been one of China's most popular athletes since Athens and a crowd of 10,000 turned up at the national championships to watch him in his first event since breaking the world record.
The China Daily report yesterday said only a handful of people used to turn up to the national championships, with Liu the main reason for the turnaround in attendances.
But Liu, who was obliged to compete as part of his commitments to Chinese sport, gave no indication of wanting to turn on anything special for his adoring fans.
“My first goal in domestic competitions is to win rather than try my best,” he was quoted him as saying.
“When I am well ahead during the race, I will slow down before the finishing line.”
In contrast, Liu was full of excitement for his upcoming events in Europe.
“Those competitions are different.
“You are pushed to the limit if you want to win and the atmosphere will be totally different,” he said. – AFP
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