Liu's struggle continues

The former 110 metres hurdles Olympic and world champion finished third behind Olympic bronze medallist David Oliver and, even more surprising, his compatriot Shi Dongpeng.
Such is his low level of expectation now, however, that far from being downcast by being so soundly beaten -- Oliver ran 12.99 seconds to his 13.40 -- the 26-year-old was encouraged by his performance in his home city.

 "13.40 is a good time for me now. I was very happy to make that time today," the 26-year-old told reporters.

"My foot was definitely not right. For me it was quite a challenge. Competition relies on training, systematic, intensive and high quality training. But I have had none."
This was all a far cry from the days when Liu was in his pomp, winning gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, setting the then world record of 12.88 seconds in Lausanne in 2006 and taking the world title in Osaka a year later.