One more hurdle

    Updated: 2012-05-19 07:37:15

    By Lei Lei (China Daily)

      Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

    One more hurdle

    One more hurdle

    (From left to right) 110m hurdlers Jason Richardson and David Oliver of the US, Liu Xiang of China and Aries Merritt of the US pose for a photo after a press conference ahead of Shanghai's Diamond League athletics meet in Shanghai on Friday. Chinese superstar Liu faces a huge test of his Olympic credentials when he lines up against reigning world champion Richardson at the event on Saturday. [Photo by Cui Meng / China Daily]

    Liu Xiang will tune up for the Olympics against some of the world's best, Lei Lei reports from Shanghai.

    Before he gets to the London Olympic Games in two months, China's star hurdler Liu Xiang must prove himself among a first-class lineup on home soil, at the 2012 Diamond League in Shanghai on Saturday night.

    In the star-studded men's 110m hurdles, Liu will compete with three elite hurdlers from the US: Reigning world champion Jason Richardson; reigning indoor world champion Aries Merritt; and David Oliver, the bronze medalist at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

    Liu, the defending champion, says he is ready.

    "All the runners are strong in Shanghai and I hope everyone can perform at his best form," Liu said on Friday.

    "I hope we can put on a high-level race here. No matter who wins, everybody will be successful."

    In last year's controversial final at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, where Liu's arm tangled with that of Cuban Dayron Robles, Richardson was the beneficiary, lifting a surprise gold.

    At the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Merritt beat Liu to win the men's 60m title.

    Oliver will pose a challenge too - he was the fastest in the world in 2010 at 12.89 sec. The three American hurdlers just arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday from the Daegu Championships Meeting.

    In Daegu, Merritt emerged to win in 13.21, followed by Oliver in 13.22 and Richardson in 13.34.

    Although world record holder Robles won't be in Shanghai, Liu believes the race will be a fierce one.

    "Saying my only rival is myself is a way to encourage myself and give myself more confidence to focus on the race, but who stands by me on the track really matters a lot," Liu said.

    "When high-level runners gather together, it will boost the results."

    One more hurdle

    Liu was asked about his rivalry with Robles, especially their clash in the final in Daegu. Liu said their relationship was "even closer".

    "A tough rivalry pushes you to even better performances," he said, adding he understood Robles was experiencing some injury problems. "I hope he is better soon and we can compete together in the Olympic Games."

    According to the weather report, the race will be a wet one. Although Liu is experienced in the rain, he was cautious about predicting his result.

    "I plan to try all out in the race and my form and performance matter as much as the result," said Liu, who just won a wet race in Kawasaki, Japan in 13.09 sec, the world's second best result this season.

    "I haven't thought of the time I will finish in. I will know it when I finish the race," Liu said.

    Liu's coach, Sun Haiping, also remained cautious.

    "All the finalists are strong," Sun said. "The Americans flew a long way to South Korea, but after these days, they should have adjusted well. So, the competition will be really fierce on Saturday.

    "For Liu, the result is not that important. This Shanghai event, plus the race in Eugene (Oregon) later, are all intensive training classes for him. The result is not that important, but how well he performs is. Our ultimate goal is for him to run in his best form at the London Olympics."

    Like Liu, Merritt has recently adopted a seven-step approach to the first hurdle.

    "It's been very successful," Merritt said of the change. "It paved the way for a gold medal in Istanbul and a personal best (13.03) in Arkansas. It's going really well."

    The IAAF's website contributed to this report.

    Medal Count

     
    1 46 29 29
    2 38 27 22
    3 29 17 19
    4 24 25 33
    5 13 8 7
    6 11 19 14

    Watch the Future of Olympic Sports

    SUPERBODIES 2012:
    Soccer
    Click for HD

    Most Viewed

    Gold medal moments

    Age not a problem for Olympic dreams

    Olympic moments to remember

    Beijing Olympics just keeps on giving

    Against the Olympic spirit

    Olympic fashion tips

    Taking success overseas

    more

    Competition Schedule

    ...
    ...
    日韩精品真人荷官无码| 人妻少妇精品中文字幕AV | 精品久久久无码21p发布 | 亚洲男人在线无码视频| 2014AV天堂无码一区 | 最近中文字幕完整免费视频ww | 午夜精品久久久久久久无码 | 精品无码一区在线观看| 无码精品尤物一区二区三区| 无码任你躁久久久久久| 日韩AV无码精品人妻系列| 中文字幕日韩三级片| 精品久久亚洲中文无码| HEYZO无码综合国产精品227| 性无码免费一区二区三区在线 | 精品无码AV一区二区三区不卡| 日韩av无码中文无码电影| 中文字幕二区三区| 中文字幕乱码人妻无码久久| 精品国产毛片一区二区无码| 久久久久亚洲av无码专区导航| 国产成年无码久久久免费| 色婷婷综合久久久久中文字幕| 欧美激情中文字幕综合一区| 中日精品无码一本二本三本| 国产亚洲情侣一区二区无码AV| 国产乱妇无码大片在线观看| 国产精品无码av在线播放| 久久精品中文字幕无码绿巨人| 无码中文字幕乱在线观看| 亚洲av无码国产精品夜色午夜| 国产AV无码专区亚洲AV手机麻豆| 国产成人无码一区二区在线观看| 国产成年无码AV片在线韩国| 亚洲AV无码精品色午夜果冻不卡| 亚洲AV日韩AV永久无码下载| 亚洲中文字幕久久精品无码APP| 成人无码网WWW在线观看| 亚洲精品高清无码视频| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区乱子伦 | 亚洲国产精品成人精品无码区|