Hurdler Liu Xiang Crashes Out

There’s always 2016. Superstar Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang crashed into the first hurdle in his 110m heat, bringing his Olympics to an end on Tuesday morning. Liu is China’s most prominent athlete and won gold in Athens in 2004, but he was forced to drop out of his medal defense in Beijing in 2008 because of an Achilles injury. A leg injury may also have been to blame for his problems in today’s heat. Earlier this year Liu ran the current world-record time of 12.87, and he had been expected to take back the gold at this year’s Olympics.