This is a Chinese name; the family name is Liu.

Medal record
Liu Xiang
Men's athletics
Competitor for  China
Olympic Games
Gold	2004 Athens	110 m hurdles
World Championships
Gold	2007 Osaka	110 m hurdles
Silver	2005 Helsinki	110 m hurdles
Bronze	2003 Paris	110 m hurdles
World Indoor Championships
Gold	2008 Valencia	60 m hurdles
Silver	2004 Budapest	60 m hurdles
Bronze	2003 Birmingham	60 m hurdles
Asian Games
Gold	2002 Busan	110 m hurdles
Gold	2006 Doha	110 m hurdles

Liu Xiang (simplified Chinese: 刘翔; traditional Chinese: 劉翔; pinyin: Liú Xiáng; born July 13, 1983 in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese 110 metre hurdler, an Olympic Gold medalist, the reigning World Champion, and is the world record holder in the 110 metre hurdles at 12.88 seconds.^[1] His 2004 Olympic gold medal was China's first in a men's track and field event. Furthermore he is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the "triple crown" of athletics (World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion) concurrently. Liu Xiang may mean: Liu Xiang(刘翔), the Olympics Gold Medal winner of 110m hurdles. ... Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. ... A Chinese surname, family name (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or clan name (氏; pinyin: shì), is one of the hundreds or thousands of family names that have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, and among overseas Chinese communities. ... 劉 pinyin: Liú (in traditional form) Liu is a common Chinese family name. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Liu_xiang_2004. ... A womens 400 m hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... The 110 m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium August 24 to August 27. ... The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. ... Official logo The 2007 World Championships in Athletics is being held in Osaka, Japan from August 24 to September 2, 2007 at Nagai Stadium. ... Helsinki Olympic Stadium at the opening day of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. ... The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from August 23 to August 31, 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. ... The International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships were inaugurated as the World Indoor Games in 1985 in Paris, France and were subsequently renamed in 1987 as they are known today. ... The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics will be held in Valencia, Spain in March, 2008 at the Luis Puig Palace. ... The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. ... The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham,UK between 14 March and 16 March 2003. ... Asian Games Logo The Asian Games, also called the Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. ... The 15th Asian Games were held in Busan, South Korea from September 29, 2002 to October 14, 2002. ... The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asias Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. ... Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... Hurdling In track and field athletics there are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... Official logo The 2007 World Championships in Athletics is being held in Osaka, Japan from August 24 to September 2, 2007 at Nagai Stadium. ... A world record is the best performance in a certain discipline, usually a sports event. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the unit of time. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ...

Early life

Liu Xiang was born on July 13, 1983 in Shanghai, China. He is the only child of a truck driver and a waitress. Liu was selected and enrolled in a junior sports school in the fourth grade and initially succeeded at the high jump by winning the national high-jump title for boys his age in his first year of competition. At age 15 he met hurdle coach Sun Haiping, who persuaded him to switch events. is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... An only child is a child with no siblings, either biological or adopted. ... Fourth grade (called Grade 4 in some regions) is a year of education in America and many other nations. ... This article is about the athletic event. ...

Career

2000

Although his coach Sun described Liu Xiang's technique as "terrible" in the beginning, Liu debuted internationally at the world junior championships in 2000, finishing fourth in the 110 metre hurdles event.

2001

In May, he won at East Asian Games in Osaka, Japan with 13.42 seconds. In August, he won at World University Games in Beijing, China with 13.33 seconds. The East Asian Games is a multi-sport event held every four years since 1993 among athletes from East Asian countries. ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ... The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes, by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). ... Peking redirects here. ...

2002

In July, Liu won a silver medal at IAAF Grand Prix in Lausanne with a world junior and Asian record time of 13.12 seconds (+1.6 m/s tailwind) in the 110 metre hurdles. Immediately after that race, Liu asked one of his heroes Allen Johnson, the then world number one sprint hurdler, for an autograph, and when interviewed at that time about the Athens Olympic Games to be held two years later, Liu stated that he would have been satisfied with qualifying just for the finals. In fact, he later went on to win that Olympic gold medal. In the same year, Liu also set the world junior indoor record holder in the 60 m hurdles with a time of 7.55 seconds. In the process of running a longer distance, Liu also set the world junior indoor record for the 50 m hurdles with a time of 6.52 seconds. However, these two particular indoor records were not officially recognized by the IAAF. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics (known in the US as track and field). It was founded in 1912 at its first Congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation. ... Lausanne (pronounced ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura mountains to its north. ... A tailwind is a wind that hits an aircraft from behind. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Allen K. Johnson (born March 1, 1971) is a hurdling athlete and won Olympic Gold in the 110 metre high hurdles at the 1996 games in Atlanta, Georgia. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ...

2003

In March, Liu won a bronze medal in 60 metre hurdles at IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in Birmingham, UK with 7.52 seconds. In August, Liu won a bronze medal in 110 metre hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France with 13.23 seconds. and He was also named that year's Chinese Male Athlete of the Year through the vote of Chinese sports journalists. The International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships were inaugurated as the World Indoor Games in 1985 in Paris, France and were subsequently renamed in 1987 as they are known today. ... This article is about the British city. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events. ...

2004

Liu Xiang celebrating at the 2007 World Championship as he became the World Champion for the first time.

In May 2004 at an IAAF race in Osaka, Japan, Liu managed to beat Johnson with an Asian and personal best record time of 13.06 seconds. Liu had become his hero's equal just before the Athens Olympic Games. Official logo The 2007 World Championships in Athletics is being held in Osaka, Japan from August 24 to September 2, 2007 at Nagai Stadium. ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ...

Liu won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in the 110 metre hurdles event, equaling Colin Jackson's 1993-set world record of 12.91 seconds. The wind assistance (tailwind) for Jackson's race was +0.5 m/s whereas Liu's wind assistance was +0.3 m/s. This was also the first time an athlete of non-African descent had gone under 13 seconds for the 110 metre hurdles. Liu also became just the sixth man to post a time under 13 seconds for this event. The ecstatic Liu at once fulfilled the great promise he had shown in setting a world junior record two years earlier and raised the hopes of his compatriots for a repeat victory at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Liu said that his performance, which brought China its first men's Olympic gold medal in track and field, "changes the opinion that Asian countries don't get good results in sprint races. I want to prove to all the world that Asians can run very fast." In his comments Liu gave voice to his country's cultural stereotype, which, judging from editorial comments in Chinese newspapers, he was not alone in believing. "I am a Chinese," he said, "and considering the physiology of the Chinese people, it is something unbelievable." Gold Medal is an album by American band The Donnas, released in 2004. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Adam El-gifari== Adam El-gifari == ... Wind assistance is a term in athletics which refers to the wind level during a race or event. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad will be celebrated from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony commencing at 08:08:08 pm at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, Peoples Republic of China. ... Peking redirects here. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... Sprints are short running races in athletics. ...

Liu, a 21-year-old student at East China Normal University at the time of his Athens victory, became the object of a bidding war between commercial sponsors. The Chinese Track and Field Association restricted him to four such deals. East China Normal University (华东师范大学) (ECNU) was founded in October 1951 in western Shanghai, in place of Great China University (Daxia University) and Guanghua University. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Liu finished the season with 4 of the year's 10 fastest clockings. Reaching 17 finals in the 60 m indoor hurdles and the 110 metre hurdles, he lost just 2, both to American Allen Johnson. Liu, at 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) and 85 kg (187 lb), was taller than most sprint hurdlers, and he showed spectacular athleticism in constraining his naturally long stride to the three-step pattern necessary for avoiding the alternation of lead legs in hurdling. Allen K. Johnson (born March 1, 1971) is a hurdling athlete and won Olympic Gold in the 110 metre high hurdles at the 1996 games in Atlanta, Georgia. ...

2005

In August, Liu won a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland, finishing 13.08 seconds, 0.01 seconds after champion Ladji Doucouré from France. In November, he won at East Asian Games in Macau, China with 13.21 seconds. Off track, in May, he was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award for Newcomer of the Year for his breakthrough performance at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. ... Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Province Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - Mayor Jussi Pajunen Area  - Total 187. ... Ladji Doucouré (born March 28, 1983 in Juvisy-sur-Orge) is a French athlete who mainly competes in hurdling. ... The East Asian Games is a multi-sport event held every four years since 1993 among athletes from East Asian countries. ... The Laureus World Sports Awards are awarded annually to sportspeople who have been outstanding during the previous year. ... List of winners and nominees of the Laureus World Sports Awards: Newcomer of the Year. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ...

2006

Liu set a new world record in the 110 metre hurdles, at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne on July 11, 2006, with a time of 12.88 seconds (+1.1 m/s tailwind). The record was ratified by the IAAF.^[2] In that same race, American Dominique Arnold had also beaten the previous record with a time of 12.90 seconds.^[3] In September, he won gold at IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany with 12.93 seconds. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Lausanne (pronounced ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura mountains to its north. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dominique Arnold (born September 14, 1973) is an American hurdling athlete. ... The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006. ... For other uses, see Stuttgart (disambiguation). ...

2007

On August 31, 2007 at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan, Liu won gold in the 110 metre hurdles with 12.95 seconds to become the World Champion for the first time. is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Official logo The 2007 World Championships in Athletics is being held in Osaka, Japan from August 24 to September 2, 2007 at Nagai Stadium. ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ...

Major achievements

This article is about the year. ... The East Asian Games is a multi-sport event held every four years since 1993 among athletes from East Asian countries. ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year. ... The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes, by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). ... Peking redirects here. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Lausanne (pronounced ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura mountains to its north. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The 14th Asian Championships in Athletics were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2002. ... Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government  - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area  - City 37. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Asian Games Logo The Asian Games, also called the Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. ... Busan Metropolitan City, also known as Pusan[1] is the largest port city in the Republic of Korea. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham,UK between 14 March and 16 March 2003. ... This article is about the British city. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from August 23 to August 31, 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. ... For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (Redirected from 2004 Summer Olympic Games) The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, commonly known as the 2004 Summer Olympics were the 28th Summer Olympic Games. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (August 6, 2005 – August 14, 2005) will once again be held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland the site of the first IAAF World Championships back in 1983. ... Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Province Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - Mayor Jussi Pajunen Area  - Total 187. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lausanne (pronounced ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura mountains to its north. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006. ... For other uses, see Stuttgart (disambiguation). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Asian Games Logo The Asian Games, also called the Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. ... For other uses, see Doha (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Lausanne (pronounced ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura mountains to its north. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Opening ceremony The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from August 24 to September 2, 2007. ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics will be held in Valencia, Spain in March, 2008 at the Luis Puig Palace. ... Valencia is the name of several places: In Spain: Valencia, Spain, capital of the Valencia Autonomous Community Valencia (autonomous community) Valencia (province), in the Valencia Autonomous Community The Kingdom of Valencia, which existed from 1237 to 1707 Valencia de Alcántara, a town in the province of Cáceres In...

Sponsorships

In Jan 2007, Liu was announced as global brand spokesperson for Nutrilite, a nutritional supplements company whose products are sold through the Amway corporation. Liu is currently taking Nutrilite supplements as part of his training regime.^[4] Nutrilite is a brand of nutritional products manufactured by Access Business Group at its facilities in California. ... Headquarters in Ada, Michigan Amway is a multi-level marketing, or network marketing, company founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos. ... Nutrilite is a brand of nutritional products manufactured by Access Business Group at its facilities in California. ...

Liu's athletic gear is sponsored by Nike. He is also a spokesperson for Coca Cola. Nike, Inc. ... This article is about the beverage. ...

See also

• Sports in China
• 2004 Summer Olympics — China at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• 2008 Summer Olympics

Known as the land of martial arts, Sports in China today refers to the variety of competitive sports played in China, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... The Peoples Republic of China competed as China at the 2004 Summer Olympics. ... The 2008 Summer Olympics (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be celebrated from August 8, 2008, to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony commencing at 08:08:08 pm CST (12:08:08 UTC) at the Beijing National Stadium in...

References

External links

• (English) Liu Xiang's official website
• IAAF profile for Liu Xiang

Records
Preceded by Colin Jackson	Men's 110 m Hurdles World Record Holder August 27, 2004 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Michelle Wie	Laureus World Newcomer of the Year 2005	Succeeded by Rafael Nadal
Sporting positions
Preceded by Allen Johnson	Men's 110 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 2004	Succeeded by Ladji Doucouré
Preceded by Allen Johnson	Men's 110 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 2006 — 2007	Succeeded by Incumbent