Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-03-06 From: Xinhuanet

BEIJING, March 6 — After training behind closed doors for five months, China’s Olympic medal hopeful Liu Xiang will run his first race of the new season at the world indoor championships in Valencia, Spain, on Saturday.

The line-up may include rival Dayron Robles of Cuba, who is seen as the closest athlete to challenge the Athens Olympic champion at the Beijing Games later this year.

The Cuban has showed stunning form at indoor events, winning seven out of eight races. He set a personal best of 7.33 seconds in Dusseldorf, Germany, which is also the second best in history, only after Briton Colin Jackson’s world record of 7.30.

“We were preparing for the world indoor championships during the winter training,” said Sun Haiping, Liu’s long-time coach. “I think Liu Xiang has improved a lot mentally and physically.”

Liu said that he spent 40 percent of the time training for the Valencia race and the remaining 60 percent concentrating on the Olympic Games.

Liu’s coach said that he expected the Chinese star athlete to improve on his personal best. “I think he can run inside 7.40,” Sun said.

Liu’s personal best in the 60-meters race is 7.42 seconds. Sun said that if Liu could better that, his outdoor record is also likely to improve.

“When he ran 7.42 in 60m, he set the 110m world record of 12.88. So if he runs better in 60, he will run faster in 110 as well,” the coach said.

Liu arrived in Madrid on Monday. He crashed midway through the race in the World Cup here six years ago.

After winning the gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games four years ago, Liu has become a household name in China. “The Chinese people and media expect him to win every race, big or small,” Sun said.

But Sun, who convinced Liu to give up high jump and try hurdles instead, said that he feels less pressure ahead of the Beijing Olympics than he did four years ago.

“I smoke less nowadays, but before the Athens Olympics, I smoked three packets a day. I thought too much about the Olympic Games at that time. I had to stay up very late.”

With five months to go before the Beijing Games, Sun said that he was calm. “We will try our best, but I hope people understand if we fail,” Sun said. “It is a competitive sport. It is just 10 plus some seconds. Everything can happen and nobody can promise anything.”

Liu, 25, has won almost everything in the past four years. He set the world record in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2006, and won the title for the first time at the world championships last year.