China reeling after loss of Liu Xiang

BEIJING (TICKER) —China awoke Tuesday to the realization that its favorite hero was no longer part of the Olympic Games.

Liu Xiang, whose face has been synonymous with these Games, limped out of his defense of the 110-meter hurdles title he won in Athens without leaping over the first barrier, robbing the hosts of replicating the Cathy Freeman story.

Freeman carried both the Australian and Aboriginal flags on her lap of honor following her 400-meter victory in Sydney - it was to become the enduring image of that Games, just like Liu’s performance was destined to become the defining moment in Beijing.

But, carrying the hopes of 1.3 billion people, the 25-year-old Liu fluttered away from the Bird’s Nest with the pain written all over his face.

He had attempted to defy what was later described as “intolerable” pain after aggravating a long-standing injury to his right Achilles tendon - his take-off foot - during training on Saturday in a desperate attempt not to disappoint.

The former world record holder’s body, however, would not allow him to compete, resulting in stunned silence in the National Stadium and astonishment across the host nation, who less than 24 hours earlier had been celebrating their most successful day ever at a Games, when they won eight gold medals.

Liu’s father, Liu Xuegen, described a more personal concern but expected his son to recover.

“We can accept this,” he said. “We only hope he does better next time around. His mum is weeping, but not for his failure to qualify, but for the pain he is going through.”

Sun Haiping, Liu’s coach, also could not control his emotion at the post-race press conference, choking on every answer to reporters’ questions.

“He has been fighting until the last moment,” Sun said.

Liu’s withdrawal was greeted with sympathy.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping expressed hope that Liu will recover and achieve success in future.

“We all understand that Liu quit the race due to injury,” Xi said. “We hope he will relax and focus on recovery. We hope that after he recovers, he will continue to train hard and struggle harder for the national glory.”