Is Liu Xiang Faking It?

Question

he was reported to be a ubiquitous presence in the chinese media. in commercials, billboards everywhere. perhaps he couldnt handle all that pressure and expectation to win. he was afraid to let down the whole nation so he pretends hes too hurt to compete. carrying 1 billion people on his shoulders over hurdles was too much

Answer 1

I really don't think so.  He's a strong competitor, otherwise he would have never won the gold in Athens.

He's had injuries all season.  I think his handlers were lying about his recovery status.  And then he probably was pushing himself really hard in practice and making it worse.  He's been in high pressure situations before, and I have never, ever seen him look that bad before a race.

To the people saying he made too many facial so he must be faking it, have you ever payed attention to him before this race?  He is always quite expressive, especially compared to many of the other Chinese athletes.

He's a great athlete in both ability and personality and I hope he makes a quick recovery both physically and mentally.

Answer 2

Most definitely.

Answer 3

Most likely. The Chinese take honor and shame to a whole nother' level.

Answer 4

idk maybe..he was showing a LOT of facial expression in regards to his "pain" which is kinda like overdoing it.  so i think he could be faking it..considering he was smiling later on and didn't look phased, but relieved.  

Answer 5

For my understanding, the answer is, at the same time, yes and no.

Yes because what happened in front of the public eye was imo clearly staged, there are way too many hints about it.

No because he actually is injured and wasn't in the right shape to be competitive.

Imho they preferred to not let him compete rather than seeing him get some mediocre results, but it happened just because his olympic adventure was spoiled since the beginning by his injuries.

The injury isn't fake, it's just that all the people involved in this are acting to make his renounce as honorable as possible.

Answer 6

That's one big fake if he is. Are you talking s**t I think is a more appropriate question.

Answer 7

can't agree with you more

Answer 8

I doubt it.

Answer 9

I was so suspicious that I did a google search "Was liu xiang faking" and I ended up here. I don't think he was even TRYING to fake it. He was forced to fake it. Sure the pressure was on him to perform but even more so on CHINA. Look at the lip syncing fiasco.  Look at their lopsided Gold count. I think China would prefer to bow out early than end up with bronze. As soon as Liu walked off the track the grimmace was gone. I think he would have loved to Give it his best but the Authorities forced him out. He intentionally overstaged his act to let people know it was an act. It is an unsporting question to ask and I don't think the networks will ask it. but for China it's not just a game.  

Answer 10

Yes he is faking.

You could see him setting it up as soon as he got out pulling faces etc.

Too much pressure.

Answer 11

What kind of question is this? He won the same event in Athens. He is more than capable of winning. He was injured months before the Olympics. If you say that about Liu Xiang, can we say the same about Tyson g*y?

Answer 12

NO Olympian is going to fake an injury if he was a world record holder in that event.  The guys has no reason to fake.  His times are super fast.  

No, he's not faking it.  

Answer 13

Is he faking it . Definitely the answer is yes.

I agree with the previous comments about him making wild facial expressions. It seemed a bit too much.

But since he did fake his injury, is he considered a sub par athlete. Not really. Rather than try and lose, he has left with dignity to fight another day. Thus, I consider him to be smart individual to fake his injury and walk away and come back and fight another day.  So in that respect, I consider his decision to be a good one.

Answer 14

I can't believe you asked this question.  If you lived in China for any duration, you would know that Liu Xiang has a great personality and always tries to keep a low profile.  He helps out those in need, such as those in the Sichuan earthquake by donating 2.5 million RMB, and shows by example that education comes first by currently being enrolled in a university.

If the Olympics were held in the U.S and Michael Phelps pulled out of the preliminaries of his first race, he would not be faking it.  And neither is Liu Xiang.

If you watched his last few races, you would know Liu Xiang welcomes the pressure to win.  He has said he wanted to show the world by example that Asians could run with other races.  But he came into the Olympics with a sore right hamstring that had bothered him for a while, yet couldn't just not run, as he had to give the fans a glimmer of hope.  But when the Dutch dude false started, he knew he absolutely couldn't do it.  I hope he recovers and wins in London 2012.