April 8, 2015
Well it’s official, Liu Xiang has retired from track and field. For many of us who have followed the men’s 110m hurdles over the past decade or so, this is a very sad day, even though we could see it coming. For the past several years, injuries to his Achilles and ankle have slowed him down severely, limiting him to very few competitions.
When I look back on Liu’s career, several defining moments come to mind, beginning with his Olympic victory in 2004, when he dominated the race, defeating silver medalist Terrence Trammell by almost a full three tenths of a second. Then there was the world record race in 2006, when he ran 12.88 and Dominque Arnold broke the American record, finishing second in 12.90. And there were a whole lot of other races where Liu ran against the best and came out on top amongst the likes of Allen Johnson, Dayron Robles, and many others.
Where Liu stands in the pantheon of all-time greats is open to debate. With an injury-shortened career, he didn’t have the longevity of a Johnson or a Greg Foster or Colin Jackson. But for me, Liu’s status has more to do with his mastery of the event than with his achievements. In my eyes, when it comes to technical precision and executing near-flawless races time and time again, Liu is the best there ever was.
As a coach, when I’m teaching technique, positioning, angles, or timing, Liu is the hurdler I tell my athletes to study. You wanna know how your lead leg is supposed to function? Watch some Liu Xiang footage. You wanna know how your trail leg is supposed to function? Watch some Liu Xiang. You wanna know about the lead arm? The trail arm? The lean? Quit asking me dumb questions. Just watch some Liu fool.
Liu is the athlete whose name comes up most often when my hurdlers and I are having discussions on the track, during practice, between reps. Of course, Johnson’s name comes up; he was a master too. Robles’ name comes up, because that trail leg boom! was ridiculous. But Liu is the benchmark. He’s the standard of excellence that we aspire to. Any athlete of mine who can’t use Liu Xiang as a frame of reference is basically under-educated when it comes to the hurdles. Go watch some Liu and come back tomorrow.
What was it about Liu? A whole lot of things:
- The way his trail leg knee would rise so high, above the crossbar, instantly after take-off.
- The way his lead arm would whip straight up, with the thumb tapping the forehead, then whip straight back.
- The way he shuffled his feet in the strides between the hurdles.
- How he would spring into hurdling position off the cut step.
- The way he trusted his technique and could walk down even the best of opponents in the latter half of races.
- He ran clean races. Sorry, but I’m a purist. I don’t like a whole lot of clang-clang going on in a race, with hurdlers just bulldozing hurdles. Liu showed us that you can run hurdle races very aggressively and very cleanly; you don’t have to choose one or the other.
These are all things I taught, and teach, my hurdlers to do.
I wish Liu the best of success in whatever endeavors he chooses to pursue from here on. And I thank him for using his gifts to remind us of how magical a 110 meter hurdle race can be.
