Chinas Olympic 110m hudler Liu Xiang has retired. The 31yr old won the country’s first Olympic Mens Athletics Gold in the 110m hurdles in Athens in 2004 and added a World Title in 2007. Liu has been affected by an Archilles problem ever since it caused him to pull out off his first heat at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He then had surgery after crashing out of his heat at London 2012. “I’m retiring. I want to start a new journey.” Liu said in a message posted to his blog, blaming injury for his decision. Liu is held in the same high esteem in China as basketball player Yao Ming and tennis star Li Na who have also recently retired.
