The official newspaper, China Daily, had hinted this morning that all may not be well with Liu when it headlined a curtain raiser for the race, “Injured Liu vs Terrifying Opponent”. (The opponent is Cuban Dayron Robles, who snipped 0.01 seconds off Liu’s world record this June.)

Liu has been everywhere in Beijing this month, on advertisement hoardings, on the covers of magazines as the single most iconic profile of the Beijing Games. Ever since he unexpectedly won the 110m hurdles at the Athens Olympics, he has altered the narrative of Chinese sport. Sport for China has been a mode of self-expression, an assertion that nothing is out of reach. But while China had zipped up the ladder in the medals tally, its takings in athletics has been quite minimal.

Thus Liu’s own comments after winning that gold as “a kind of a miracle”. “It is unbelievable, a Chinese, an Asian, has won this event,” he said. “It is a proud moment not only for China, but for Asia and all people who share the yellow skin colour.”

With the Athens 110m hurdles, Liu became the first Chinese man to win an athletics gold. And it was no fluke. He went on dominate the 110m, setting a world record in Lausanne in 2006. The record confirmed his place as an extraordinary hurdler, one who made up for his relative slowness as a sprinter with his strides.

His reputed fearlessness and his athletic good looks also made him, along with NBA basketballer Yao Ming, a marketable icon in a country where first-class athletes tend to be anonymous. Forbes estimated his income in 2007 to be $23.9 million. But as this morning’s China Daily reminded readers, unlike Yao, Liu is a “state-owned asset” and shares his endorsement fee with his coach and the Shanghai and national sports administrations.

... contd.