Liu Xiang’s World Record Race

by Steve McGill

For this month’s great race, let’s take a look back at the world record race that Liu Xiang ran back in 2006. Sure doesn’t seem like that took place eleven years ago, but it certainly did. Now I’ve never compiled a personal list of the greatest 110 meter hurdle races of all time, but if I were to do so, this one would definitely be at or near the top of the list. It was a great race on so many levels, and it occurred during an era when the men’s high hurdles was one of the most electrifying events in the sport of track and field.

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Now, 2006 was one of those “gap” years when there were no World Championships and no Olympic Games. A down year, if you will, when the Diamond League meets (or were they still called the Golden League meets back then?) took on a more special meaning. Liu Xiang was at the height of his powers, as he had won the Olympic gold medal two years prior by a substantial margin, and had clearly taken over the mantle as the world’s best hurdler from America’s Allen Johnson, who was nearing the tail end of his career.

But Liu wasn’t the only big dog in this race. If you go down the line, you will see that everybody in this race was someone of major significance, or would later go on to become so. To Liu’s left, in lane one, there was Ryan Wilson, who, even though he was a young pup who was in a bit over his head on this day, would go on seven years later to claim a World Championship silver medal in 2013. Liu was in lane two. To his immediate right, in lane three, was the previous year’s world champion, Ladji Doucoure of France. So, the 2004 Olympic champion and the 2005 World champion were side by side. In lane four was Dominique Arnold, one of the best American hurdlers of the past decade when healthy. He too would make history on this day. In lane five there was 2004 Olympic silver medalist Terrance Trammell of the US, who had the fastest start and fastest flat speed of any hurdler in the world at the time. In lane six was Cuba’s Dayron Robles, who, at the time, was still on the come up, but would go on to rule the world a couple years later, winning Olympic gold and breaking the world record that Liu set in this race. And if all of that isn’t enough for you, Aries Merritt was lined up in lane seven. Though he was still young and wasn’t considered much of a factor, we all know what he would later accomplish in the event. Six years later, in a glorious 2012 season, he would go on to earn Olympic gold and knock the world record time all the way down to 12.80, where is still stands to this day. Finally, Stanislav Olijars of Latvia was in lane eight. Although Olijars never broke a world record nor won a major championship, he was in the thick of things often back in those days, so you couldn’t sleep on him.

As for the race itself, talk about electrifying! Wow! Everybody was rolling! It’s kind of funny watching the race now and realizing that Robles was the only one seven-stepping to hurdle one in this race. Liu and Merritt would make the switch later in their careers. Nowadays, it’s more uncommon to see an eight-stepper at the elite level than it is to see seven-steppers. Anyway, the race itself: Liu in lane two, Doucoure in lane three, and Trammell in lane 5 got out the fastest. Trammell,who I would argue had the fastest start of anyone in the history of the sport, sprinter or hurdler, took an early lead. But he started to hit hurdles and lose momentum while Liu kept putting on the pressure. Meanwhile, Arnold in lane four began to make a huge surge beginning at about hurdle four. Robles, Olijars, and Merritt were falling slightly off the pace, while Wilson was struggling mightily in lane one. Both Liu and Arnold were running clean, mistake-free race, and had emerged as co-leaders around hurdle eight. Both of them remained neck-and-neck over the last two hurdles. Off the final barrier, Liu, who was a master of holding his lean off the last hurdle, gained a slight edge and crossed the line ever-so-slightly ahead of Arnold.

The official times shocked the world. Both Liu and Arnold had broken Colin Jackson’s previous record of 12.91. Liu’s official time was 12.88 while Arnold’s was 12.90. That has never happened before or since. Arnold’s time broke Allen Johnson’s American record of 12.92, yet he finished second while doing it. The look of exhilaration and shock on his face after the race tells the story of how thrilling the race was for him. Liu danced around giddily for what seemed like a half an hour, signing autographs (no selfies for fans back in the day) and getting his picture in front of the official time scoreboard.

From a coach’s point of view, this race is an absolute delight! So many styles to analyze, so many great hurdlers who all hurdle so differently! Of course, for my money, Liu is the master technician, a true martial artist of hurdling with absolutely no wasted motions. This race also features an Arnold who was at the height of his powers. It’s incredible watching how his hip height never changes at all even though he’s only six feet tall clearing 42-inch barriers. While Liu and Arnold have different lead arm styles, they are the two styles that I love to teach. Liu’s punches straight up and straight down, while Arnold’s cycles slightly on the way down, as he needs more room for his trail leg to pull through. Then you have the styles of Robles and Merritt, who would later become the standard bearers that many hurdlers at all levels would strive to mimic. It’s funny to watch Aries’ lead arm in this race and compare it to his lead arm of 2012, and to realize just how much he tightened up the action without actually changing the action. If the start is what you’re working on, then glue your eyes to lane five and take a look at Trammell. He gets out like a rocket ship. And he did that all the time, not just in this race. If he had a lean like Liu’s instead of that duck-down lean that causes the lead leg to lock, Trammell would’ve been a 12.7 guy, no doubt.

Take a look at the race in the video below. It’s a long video, and it has some of the best slow motion replay angles that you’ll ever see. Whether watching as a fan, watching as a coach, or watching as a hurdler studying your craft, this race is worth watching over and over again.

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