(AP Photo)
Okay, not quite. But I was working this morning, which if you've been living under a rock, means that I was at the Bird's Nest for the track & field qualifying events. And China's hurdling superstar, Liu Xiang, did not even compete in his event. Here's how it all played out:
-I was covering the womens hammer throw for most of the morning. And it was great because we now have ONS seats in the Press Tribune, which means we have a place IN the stadium to watch the events instead of just watching them in the office or in the mixed zone on one of the tv screens. I was really enjoying being outside and taking it all in...until some Hong Kong popstar came to the CCTV booth and all the Chinese (in the press tribune) started taking out cameras and pens and taking pictures and autographs. So I headed down the mixed zone to watch the rest of the hammer throw and try and grab some athletes before Liu Xiang's event.
-By the time I got down to the mixed zone, the place was already buzzing. The screens were showing him warming up, wearing his bright red China warm ups and stretching on the track. He took his time changing into his little spandex running top and I remember thinking "Why is he taking so long? What is he avoiding?" The hurdlers took their positions and snap, they were off. But there was a false start. The camera went to Liu and he ripped the sticker with his lane number off his lack and walked off the track. The race went on, and the cameras zoomed in on his empty starting blocks. The stadium subsequently EMPTIED.
-The mixed zone was buzzing instantly. Chinese people were crying all around me, literally sobbing. Some on our ONS team couldn't keep it together, either. No one knew what had happened...was it his hamstring injury? Or something else? How long had he been injured? Where was he now?
-He was being attended to by three doctors and within fifteen minutes of the race ending, I was in the Press Conference Room, sitting with one of our ONS professional staff, waiting for the conference to begin. We knew that Liu would NOT be attending, just two Chinese coaches.
-The room was PACKED. The coaches entered: Sun Hiping, Liu's head coach for the past 12 years and Feng Shuyong, one of Team China's head coaches for track and field. We turned on our headsets, readying for the English translation. But we didn't need them. A young Chinese woman would be translating for the coaches. One problem...she was CLEARLY upset. She could barely get words out and she was constantly stopping to sniffle and catch her breath.
-Both coaches reiterated that Liu would always compete, until the pain was unbearable. They were clearly shaken. His personal head coach, Sun Hiping, broke down a couple times. When a journalist asked about their father-son-like relationship, he just couldn't help it. (NOTE: He and Liu share a house in Shanghai).
-When asked about the pressure Liu might have felt, the pressure all the Chinese athletes felt, (and feel, probably), Feng said that Liu has said in the past, "the biggest opponent in my competition is myself."
It was one of the longest mornings here and saddest, too. Sure, we are journalists and we're objective (I was not shedding any tears in the mixed zone), but this guy literally had the country of China on his shoulders. Since Athens they had been talking about Liu winning gold in his home country, in the Birds Nest, in World Record fashion. I don't know if they show the Nike commercial in the States, but it's a great one: Liu is getting ready to run the hurdles, and the commercial cuts to Chinese workers in a restaurant, people watching at home, spectators in the stadium; and Liu takes his hands and puts blinders on--just focuses on what's in front of him. The commercial ends with the swoosh and "Just Do It." It's incredibly sad that he didn't even get to do just that.
