Jiang Yi, a writer with the Chinese edition of Sports Illustrated, which had Liu on the cover of its Olympics special, explains the difference between the two icons. “Liu is our only Olympic star. Yao is more an NBA star.” Liu’s appeal, he says, goes beyond just his athletic excellence: “Chinese athletes tend to be introverts. Liu has an interesting personality, he has a sense of himself. He gives you a sense of modern China. He is not afraid to show his character.”

Liu’s races are marquee events in China. Stories are told of how during a rehearsal at the Bird’s Nest in May, the stadium almost emptied out once Liu had run his race. But hamstring niggles made him pull out of a New York meet in May, and in June he was unable to complete the race because of a false start.

Jiang agrees that Liu’s exit here today is “a big blow to the entire country”. But: “It’s a bit exaggerated. It is obviously a huge disappointment. But he has to move on. He’s young. Four years later, he’ll still have a chance at London.”

Disappointments happen, agrees Jiang, “but this time it was little bit special. These are the Olympics. In China. This was the single event the Chinese people were looking forward to.” Jiang’s mother had bought a ticket for the semi-finals of the 110m hurdles. “Who knew he’d be out.”

In the end, Jiang recommends a sense of proportion: by the time Liu left the track, China had already got 35 golds, more than it has ever before. By Monday’s end that number has swollen to 39.