Liu Xiang experienced the most agonizing time on Tuesday when the Achilles injury that forced him out of the 110m hurdles heats in Beijing four years ago ended his London Olympics campaign.

Feng Shuyong, head of the China Track and Field Administrative Center, said at a news briefing just after the heat that the initial diagnosis was that Liu had ruptured his Achilles tendon. The injury is the same one he had in Beijing.

In the last several years he has had good medical care, but it has still bothered him. An Achilles injury is almost impossible to recover from fully. Feng said he didn't expect the situation in the heat because over 90 percent of ruptures of the Achilles tendon have no sign.

Before the London Games, Liu Xiang already made himself a sports and cultural icon in China.

Liu Xiang was born on July 13, 1983 in Shanghai. His 2004 Olympic gold medal was the first in a men's track and field event for China. He is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the triple crown of athletics: World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion.

In the 2008 Beijing Games, Liu withdrew from the 110 meter hurdle due to an injury in his right achilles tendon. In 2009 and 2011, he recovered from the injury. In the 2011 IAAF Diamond League, Liu Xiang defeated David Oliver with a world-leading mark of 13.07 seconds, which marked his return to a world class level.

In 2012, Liu Xiang won at the Prefontaine Classic with 12.87 seconds, albeit with wind-assistance of 2.4 meters per second.