Liu Xiang, China’s biggest hope for gold in athletics, has wrapped up his training and arrived in London.
Liu’s coach says they are confident heading into the competition with Liu appearing to be in top form, but he did add he is worried about Liu’s old achilles injury flaring up again.
Liu arrived at Heathrow airport on Friday morning along with coach Sun Haiping and teammates Shi Dongpeng and Xie Wenjun following two weeks of preparation in Dusseldorf.
One of China’s highest-profile athletes, Liu won gold in Athens eight years ago but a foot injury robbed him of the chance to defend his title on home soil in 2008.
Last month, Liu pulled out of the final of the 110 metres hurdles at the London Grand Prix due to a back problem. Liu’s coach says the hurdlers back is no longer an issue and appears to be at his best but Liu, is now dealing with concerns over his foot.
Sun Haiping, Liu Xiang’s Coach, said, "In the last phase of our preparation for the Olympics, we have both good news and bad news. Liu Xiang used to feel discomfort in his back muscle, but now after treatment and recovery the pain has gone. The bad news is that as our training became more intensive, the old injury in his achilles tendon caused discomfort. Overall, Liu had a very good training in Germany and is in his top form."