The message to a distraught Chinese public, still reeling from withdrawal of the nation’s biggest sporting hero, could not have been clearer.
Chinese superstar Liu Xiang sensationally pulled out of the Games injured on Monday, putting a dampener on China’s success thus far.
Multinationals have paid a king’s ransom for their right to sponsor the Olympics and they are scanning the horizon for ambushes as they drive the marketing bandwagon towards Beijing.
China’s president and the country’s top athlete launched the Beijing Olympics torch relay on Monday amid cheering, dancing and tight security, marking the symbolic start to a Games overshadowed by activism and unrest in Tibet. Chinese President Hu Jintao lit a cauldron on a red-carpeted rostrum on Tiananmen Square before handing the torch to World and Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang.
World 60m hurdles champion Liu Xiang went through two medal ceremonies at the world indoor championships on Sunday when organisers mistakenly played the Chilean national anthem instead of China’s. Chinese star Liu, the Olympic and world 110m hurdles champion, had clinched the gold medal on Saturday.
Tyson Gay romped to the 200m world title on Thursday, giving him a rare sprint double at the World Athletics Championships. He joined an exclusive club that includes fellow Americans Maurice Greene and the disgraced Justin Gatlin as the only men to win both the 100m and 200m crowns.