Name: Liu Xiang
Sport: Athletics
Best Results: Won gold medals in the Olympic Games, the World Championships, and the World Indoor Championships
Biography: Liu Xiang was born on the 13th of July, 1983, in Putuo District, Shanghai. He represented the People’s Republic of China in the 110m hurdles events of many major athletics competitions. He is presently considered the most successful male track athlete in the history of China sports. Liu Xiang is the current world champion and world record holder for the 110m hurdles.
Liu Xiang won his first gold medal in an international athletics competition at the East Asian Games which was held in Osaka, Japan, in the year 2001. The following year, he took part in the IAAF Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, and he broke the World Junior and Asian records with a time of 13.12 seconds. He finished second in the competition. He won two more gold medals in 2002, at the Asian Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. At the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France, he took the bronze medal with a run of 13.23 seconds.
In 2004, Liu Xiang competed in the Athens Olympic Games. His performance in the final of the 110m hurdles event was a historic moment for himself and his country. He became the first Chinese male athlete to win a gold medal for a track and field event in the Olympic Games. He also broke the world record with a time of 12.91 seconds. Two years later, he bettered his own world record with a run of 12.88 seconds at the IAAF Super Grand Prix which was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2007, he won his first World Championships gold medal in Osaka, Japan.
iu Xiang has made his country proud by being the first Chinese athlete to achieve the ‘triple crown’ in track and field, which includes the world record, the Olympic title, and the world title.
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