Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang (simp刘翔trad劉翔) will make his comeback in Shanghai on September 20, racing for the first time since a foot injury forced him to withdraw from the Olympics, meet organisers said Saturday.
The Chinese Athletic Association cleared Liu to race in his hometown after doctors confirmed his foot injury had healed enough for him to return to competition, Shanghai Golden Grand Prix organisers said in a statement.
The Shanghai meet “will be his first post-injury competition, but it will take some time for him to return to top form as he just started to wear spikes again,” the statement said.
He will race American Terrence Trammell in the meet’s 110m race, organisers said.
“The committee has appealed to Liu’s fans to give their encouragement but not focus too much on the final result,” the statement said, conveying a message from China’s top athletics authority.
The announcement ended more than a year of speculation on when the former 110m world champion and 2004 Olympic gold medallist might return.
He was one of China’s brightest stars at the Games last year but shocked the nation by pulling up lame in a qualifying heat.
Liu had an operation in the United States in December to repair the Achilles tendon that forced his dramatic withdrawal and has been training in secret in Shanghai over the past few months
Many Chinese have expressed sympathy that Liu was under excessive pressure to come back from his Achilles injury in time for the Olympics.
Liu and his coach Sun Haiping hope the Shanghai race will help the hurdler improve as he prepares for the Asian Athletics Championships in November and the East Asian Games in December, the statement said.
“After being away for over one year, he is eager to return to the competition as early as possible,” the statement said.
The announcement came a day after three-time world sprint champion Usain Bolt confirmed he was pulling out of the Shanghai event due to fatigue.
Next year, the Shanghai event will be included in the 14-meet “Diamond League”, which replaces the current schedule of six Golden League meets and supplementary Grand Prix meetings.
bron: AFP
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