LONDON (AP) — Former world-record holder and 2004 Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China stumbled into the first hurdle and fell to the track in his opening heat of the London Games on Tuesday. It was his second consecutive first-round exit in the 110-meter hurdles.
Four years ago in Beijing, his Olympics ended after two full strides, when he withdrew from his preliminary heat with right foot and hamstring injuries, disappointing his country of more than 1 billion people.
This time, Liu made it only as far as the initial hurdle, knocking it down. He clutched his lower right leg and stayed down for a few moments. He eventually rose and hopped on his left foot along the outside of the race route until he got to the finish line.
