12.91 – wow

I was amazed too. I wasn’t surprised that he won (I was expecting it even if AJ was in there) but the time was a little surprising. Looking back though, I should have seen it coming as his 13.18 in the semis was incredibly impressive considering he practically stopped after the last hurdle and walked across the line. I think the guy is going to be an all-time great as he has been incredibly consistent over the past 2-3 years with a very nice progression and is very young too. In addition to the H6-H8 explosion you noted, he was also the fastest over the 15m run-in despite falling apart technically. It will be interesting to see if he will be the one to finally break the 12.9 barrier.

As a side note, it says on the athens2004 site that he was a former HJer. Anyone know how high he jumped or even what his times are in the flat sprints.

He ran a 21.27 200 in 2002.

yeah all he needs to dfo now is start two stepping :yes:

His 12.91 was pretty easy as well.

Garcia run well. He has only really been back competing the last 6 weeks. I think.

Has this guy tested positive for steroids yet?

[i]Originally posted by 800prince[/i]
Has this guy tested positive for steroids yet?

Now, now. There is far more circumstantial evidence pointing to drug use by some of our (USA) championship sprinters then there is to Liu. He doesn’t have any of the telltale signs of an abuser either as his progress has been steadily improving over the past couple years rather than having sudden jumps in performance, his coach has not been linked to steroid use (as is the case in many of out top sprinters), his body type is still very lanky, and he is incredibly consistent all year long (indoor – outdoor) unlike some athletes whose performance fluctuates depending on their cycle. Also, China has a very good talent ID and I’ve heard that they have invested in an entire government funded suppport team of physios, coaches, and sports scientists to make this happen. Also, China is very concerned about their world reputation leading into the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and I don’t think they would want to risk the bad rep that a state sponsored drug program would bring. Finally, given the enormous population of China, it’s actually not unthinkable that despite not being one of the most talented nations for sprint events, the shear size of the country’s population would produce a quite a few outliers from the norm. In my opinion he’s legit….hopefully I don’t have to take back my words later.

Every time someone does something extraordinary, questions about drugs appears to the surface and stay there for a while – diving under once in a while, like a damn cork. It???s very unfortunate and detrimental to the sport. What happened to hard work, smart training, dedication, talent ???? And what about the 3,5sec. improvement by the Greek 400H girl? Damn, I wish I???d never had to think so schizophrenically!

Also, China has a very good talent ID and I’ve heard that they have invested in an entire government funded suppport team of physios, coaches, and sports scientists to make this happen

IMO China has probably the best talent ID system in the world. I read an article (ESPN mag) about about their basketball players and how they can predict the height of young athletes. They missed on Yao Ming, however, they predicted he would “only” be 6’9″ to 6’11.”

Back on topic: I am not surprised at all by the success of Liu. From what I understand he is a true student and fan of the sticks, so the combination of passion, talent, and training science came together and produced an astouding performance. Congrats to him. And has anyone else thought of the fact that he is going to be a rock star in his country and if his success continues as is, will reach god-like status in the event? Beijing 2008…sub 12.80???