BEIJING | For a few hours Monday, China´s collective obsession with topping the Olympics medal table for the first time in its history weakened to a minor distraction, the glut of golds already won failing to compensate for the loss of the one it craved most.
The sight of 110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang, national superhero and charismatic face of the Beijing Games, limping away from the starting blocks without clearing a single barrier in his first-round heat, left a nation in shock.
The 90,000 excitable fans in the Bird´s Nest stadium were rendered mute. Chinese journalists attending the resulting press conference wept, and Olympics volunteers took a break from their duties in the stands to sob quietly.
Some lamented the extreme pressure that Liu was forced to shoulder as he bore the lofty expectations of 1.3 billion people. Others erupted in anger, accusing the hurdler of paying more attention to lucrative advertising deals than athletics.
Ever since Liu won Olympic gold in Athens four years ago at age 21, the Chinese people have been waiting for him to repeat the act on home soil.
Revered for being emphatic proof that Chinese athletes can shine in Western-dominated track and field events, his victory was supposed to be the crowning moment of a glorious games, an affirmation of China´s rising power both in the political and sporting fields.
But, after persistent rumors that a hamstring injury was hindering Liu´s preparations for the race, fueled by his absence from a string of competitions, it became clear from Liu´s pre-race grimaces that his task was beyond what his body would allow.
A false start proved to be a blessing; he could only hobble toward the first hurdle. After the other athletes returned to their blocks, Liu walked off the track into a tunnel underneath the stands, where he slumped against a wall in dejection.
His demeanor was a long way from the beaming smile that adorns billboards all over the city, promoting an array of products from Coca-Cola to Visa cards to milk.
“Everyone was in a state of total disbelief - no one saw it coming. After a minute or two, the crowd all just got up and left the stadium,” said American spectator Gabriel Suk.
At a press conference shortly afterward, Liu´s coach Sun Haiping broke down in tears as he tried to explain an Achilles’ tendon injury that had flared up over the weekend.
“He has been … fighting and fighting until the last moment,” Mr. Sun said before covering his face with his hands, his body shaking violently.
Feng Shuyong, vice president of the Chinese Athletics Federation, stepped in. “He couldn´t imagine the pain he was suffering,” he said. “Let me repeat: Liu Xiang will not withdraw unless the pain is unbearable.”
However, much of the initial reaction that flooded China´s lively online chat forums was short on sympathy.
“He quit because he was afraid he was going to fail. It was just an excuse. I just hate his cowardly behavior,” said one commenter on the popular Sohu forum.
Another said the public should have been informed sooner of the severity of Liu’s injury. “Now it´s too late, I have already paid several thousand yuan for a ticket to the hurdle final and now I don´t even want to go,” said the commenter from the athlete’s home city of Shanghai.
A few hours later, though, the majority of comments were supportive of the nation’s fallen hero and much of the anger subsided.
“At first I thought it was all just a trick to escape the pressure. I felt cheated and felt sorry for the fans who had spent a lot of money on tickets,” said a Beijing journalist who gave her surname as Rong.
“But when I saw Liu´s coach in floods of tears I was touched. I believed him when he said Liu´s training had cost him his life,” she said.
The government is fearful of anything that might blemish the image of the perfect Olympic Games, so state-run media quickly set out to ensure that the Chinese people rallied around Liu.
Commentators on China Central Television urged the people to show their “full understanding” and said Liu had no choice but to pull out.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping moved quickly to exert his influence.
“We all understand that Liu quit the race due to injury. We hope he will relax and focus on recovery. We hope that after he recovers, he will continue to train hard and struggle harder for the national glory,” he was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying in a telegraph to the General Administration of Sport.
Many fans blamed Liu’s demise on China´s preoccupation with winning at all costs.
“The pressure this country has put on Liu is unfair. I find China´s attitude toward gold medals a bit sick. It´s like silver and bronze doesn´t matter at all,” said Beijing university student James Zhang.
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