Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang defending Olympic title

BEIJING (AP) Liu Xiang may be the most famous Chinese athlete you've never heard of.

The reigning Olympic 110-meter hurdles champion enjoys rock star status in China, although his fame has yet to seep into global popular culture the way basketball superstar Yao Ming's has.

That could all change on Aug. 21 when the hurdles finals are held at the Bird's Nest. A gold medal would make Liu only the third hurdler to win back-to-back Olympic titles and cement his standing as one of China's all-time sporting greats.

"He's a hero to the younger generation and the pride of older Chinese," said Lou We, a sports editor with the popular Web site tianya.net. "There are only very few Chinese athletes with this level of fame."

Liu's gold at the 2004 Athens Games was China's first Olympic sprint victory and instantly made him one of the country's most popular - and wealthiest - athletes. His image appears everywhere in his hometown, Shanghai, and ever more frequently elsewhere, often on behalf of top-tier sponsors such as Visa and Coca-Cola. A Chinese insurance company even volunteered US$13.3 million of coverage for his legs.

Underlining his superstar status, the 25-year-old Liu carried the Olympic torch on it's first domestic leg in Beijing in March, taking the handoff from Chinese president and Communist Party chief Hu Jintao. Given where he's already at, a gold medal in Beijing could push his reputation into the stratosphere.

That notoriety and the accompanying pressure is a heavy burden, however.

Liu complains of not being able to go out in public or find a girlfriend. Public appearances and sponsorship duties take up most of his free time outside of training and competition.

Despite that, Liu is also prominent among the younger generation of Chinese athletes such as Yao Ming and boxer Zou Shiming, who seek to connect with fans through blogs and public appearances outside athletic circles - sometimes in defiance of the country's staid state sports management bureaucracy.

A born showman, Liu channels his flair for acting and singing into his television commercials, in which he can be seen variously fighting with a friend over a bottle of soda and chasing a kangaroo across the Australian outback. He once sang live in a concert after a track meet in Shanghai and filmed a music video with South Korean pop star Se7en in Shanghai's cavernous downtown stadium.

A win in Beijing is far from guaranteed, however.

While Liu was once the unquestioned front-runner, the loss of his world record, a sore hamstring and lackluster season have raised doubts about his chances of retaining his title.

"We need to solve several problems together, including recovering from injury, improving competition form, and helping him with his rhythm," Liu's coach, Sun Haiping, was quoted as saying in an interview posted last week on the Web site of the Chinese Athletics Association.

"Although time is tight, I think we can solve these problems," Sun said.

Tepid predictions such as those would have been sneered at a year ago, when Liu snagged gold at the world championships in Osaka, Japan, with a time of 12.95 seconds. With the world record already under his belt and a public profile at home second only to Yao's, Liu seemed to be zeroing in on victory in Beijing and a place in history as one of the country's all-time athletics greats.

Too bad Dayron Robles wasn't following the script: The 21-year-old Cuban broke Liu's world record with a 12.87-second run on June 12 and boasts the three fastest times in the world this year.

"It's the last thing he will have wanted," said Colin Jackson, who preceded Liu as world record holder. "Having the world record gives you confidence. It means you can go on the line and think to yourself, 'You know what, if I run to my very best I will be the champion.'"

Now, he knows that "if Robles runs his very best, the Cuban can beat him," Jackson said.

Liu runs his first heat on Aug. 18.

Still nursing his injury, Liu has been training in seclusion in Beijing, skipping the opening ceremony and any other potential distractions. Though he won in Osaka in 12.95, he has yet to break 13 seconds this year or even turn in one of the season's top 10 performances.

Sun last week said Liu was "very close to his best form," but added the runner's speed over the final hurdles was not what it should be.

Nothing less than a time of 12.90 or under will do, and "we're working toward that goal," said Sun, who discovered Liu as a young high jumper and persuaded him to switch to hurdling.

Robles, in contrast, has been keeping a high profile, exuding confidence and pulling crowds seeking photos and autographs. Other top rivals lining up against Liu include American hurdlers David Oliver and Terrence Trammell, the latter a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the event.

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