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  • 05 / 05 / 2010

dayron y liuxiang
According to a Reuters report, Liu Xiang's handlers told Osaka meet officials that he pulled out of this weekend's competition because he was experiencing lingering issues with his surgically repaired Achilles tendon.

When Liu Xiang announced last week that he was skipping the Osaka Grand Prix meet this weekend to focus on a showdown with reigning Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba at the Diamond League Shanghai meet on May 23, there may have been truth behind the rationale.

But it was only a half truth.

According to a Reuters report this morning, Liu told Osaka meet officials that the reason he pulled out of the meet was lingering issues with his surgically repaired Achilles tendon.

"We received confirmation today that he had aggravated an injury last month and needed to focus on his rehabilitation," a Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) official told Reuters.

Liu, the 2004 Olympic champion and former world-record holder in the 110m hurdles, limped off the track at the Bird's Nest during the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he realized his injured right Achilles would not hold up for the race. Several months later, he underwent surgery in Houston.

After nearly a year of rehabilitation, Liu returned to competition in low-key Chinese meets with modest results. In March, he made his return to the international stage at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha.

There, Liu advanced to the final of the 60m hurdles but appeared to be a shade of his former, healthier self. With his right ankle heavily taped, he finished next to last -- Robles won the event -- in 7.65 seconds, and afterward said that his legs lacked the strength to be considered a serious medal threat.

By Joe Battaglia, Universal Sports


Source: www.universalsports.com/

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