China's Liu Xiang holds his leg after suffering an injury in his men's 110m hurdles round 1 heat at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium, Aug. 7, 2012. (Photo : REUTERS)
The organizers of Rio 2016 Olympics have extended an invitation to Chinese gold medalist Liu Xiang, who just announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Mario Andrada, the communications director of the Rio 2016 Olympics, noted that it will be sad not to have Liu competing as an athlete in the games.
"We just hope that he can come and visit us. Enjoy Rio and enjoy the Games even if he comes as a fan. Even as a fan, he is someone that we cannot miss," Andrada added.
Liu announced his retirement via a lengthy Weibo post on Tuesday. The 31-year-old, who set a world record for the 110-meter hurdle in 2007, has reportedly been out of active competition since he pulled out of the 2012 London Olympics due to an injury in his Achilles tendon. Four years earlier, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Liu was forced to pull out due to a similar injury.
Liu has revealed that he will not compete in the world championships in Beijing this summer.
"My foot told me no again and again, and there was no way it was going to be able to handle intense training and competition. I hate my foot, I love my track and my hurdle so much, and if I hadn't injured my foot . . . but then there are no 'ifs' in this world. I injured myself, and can only accept it silently," Liu wrote in his retirement announcement.
Although Liu's retirement had been anticipated by the local media, there have been an outpouring of respectful messages from fans and other athletes about the achievements of Liu in his career.
On Wednesday, Nike launched a campaign to honor Liu Xiang named #EvenTheOrdinaryCanFly.
Liu has hinted that he plans to go back to school and also contribute to the development of sports in China, particularly athletics.
