Liu Xiang breaks down his epic fall in London

Sixteen days after falling down at the London Olympics, which broke his right Achilles tendon as well as the hearts of millions of his Chinese fans, Liu Xiang sat down with CCTV in Shanghai on Thursday, and talked about it for the first time in public.

Liu Xiang speaks in an interview with China Central Television on Thursday in Shanghai. [Photo/cntv.cn]

"I never expected it [the fall]," said the hurdler. "I felt I was in good shape when I was on the track."

Liu Xiang crashed at the first hurdle in the men's 110-meter heat, to the astonishment of many, including himself, although he was aware that his legs might not hold up.

"My legs had problems. But the moment I sprinted from the starting line I still thought I could run fast, because I pushed off with my left foot."

"Then when I leapt at the first barrier [pushing off with the right foot], it was like someone whipped me... Thus my gravity center went down and lost the balance. After the fall I sat on the ground in pain and with a blank mind. I saw my squashed leg, fearing that something was wrong with the tendon."

Liu Xiang first slowly picked himself up, then limped off the track to the tunnel. A few seconds later, he returned and hopped the length of the course, and kissed the last hurdle before he was carried away in a wheelchair.

He hinted that he was kissing the Games goodbye.

"I saw the wheelchair brought in by the staff. And I believed I could hop to the finish line, so I began to do it. I kissed the hurdle because this is my last Olympics as an athlete…I never thought about making the next one in Rio. All I thought was, 'Bye-bye, Olympics'."

The 29-year-old received surgery on Aug 9. He is expected to resume training in six months.

He went to Huashan Hospital in Shanghai on Thursday to get his stitches out. He said the recovery process has been promising, adding that he has already started training from the knee and above.

Liu also sounded off on his micro blog on Thursday night, wishing his fans a good time on Qixi Festival.