Champion hurdler taking it one stride at a time as he seeks to reclaim his Olympic crown, writes Lei Lei

After clocking his first sub-13 seconds result since 2007 at the 2012 Diamond League Shanghai stop on Saturday, China's star hurdler, Liu Xiang, appears to have taken a giant stride towards his Olympic dream.

However, his coach remains cautious about the former Olympic champion and world record holder's chances, saying there are still things to be concerned about before the London Olympics.

"The whole team fully prepared for the race, so the result is very satisfactory. As for Liu, he went all out," Liu's coach, Sun Haiping, said after the men's 110m hurdles race.

"I'm happy about the result, but at the same time, I'm still worried. Liu is still recovering from his injury and his opponents are really strong ... the Americans didn't show their full strength today and we know nothing about Dayron Robles' situation. The only thing we can do is work hard."

At this home event, Liu, who faced three American rivals in the field, was off the blocks quickly and finished a meter-and-a-half clear of David Oliver and 2011 world champion Jason Richardson of the US in 12.97 sec. Oliver finished in 13.13, followed by Richardson's 13.16. Indoor world champion Aries Merritt finished fourth.

Despite the rainy weather, Liu's time was the fastest of the season, surpassing Merritt's 13.03.

Current world record holder Robles of Cuba didn't compete in Shanghai.

Although it was 0.09 seconds off his personal best of 12.88, the result pleased Liu, who has battled a foot injury since 2008, but is keen to reclaim the Olympic crown in two months time.

"I thank all of my opponents today as they inspired me to achieve such a result," Liu said after the race. "I didn't expect to finish under 13 seconds, so I'm very happy about it.

"I'm very satisfied with my performance today. I had good control from the start to the finish and I made no mistakes."

Liu's rivals were not surprised by his remarkable performance.

"I'm not surprised. He is a great hurdler," said Oliver, whose personal best is 12.89.

"You can always expect great results from him. Every time he goes on the track he tries to give his best performance."

Richardson agreed.

"I know that (Liu) is incredibly hard to beat here," he said. "What I will say was surprising to see an entire country get behind one athlete. I tip my hat to the Chinese culture. I wish we had a little bit more of that in America."

The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) report said Liu "has a huge chance of taking a second Olympic gold medal".

But the coach remains guarded about his charge's prospects.

"The result is beyond my expectations. Although the temperature was low and the track wet, Liu ran with the wind, which benefited him a lot. If he ran against the wind, the result might be 13.20 or 13.30," Sun said.

"The weather situation at the London Olympics could be like today and the temperature might be even lower. Today's race was a good rehearsal.

"The American hurdlers competed in Daegu (in South Korea) after a long flight on Wednesday and came to Shanghai right after that, so they didn't perform at their best form. They were slower today and did not show their real abilities.

"This race has boosted our confidence, but I'm still worried about how to maintain his good form, how to do everything well in training and how to avoid more injuries leading up to the Olympics. We have to be very careful about these things."

Liu also refused to get carried away with his sparkling early-season form, saying running so fast had not led him to think about regaining the world record.

"Whatever the circumstances, I've never thought of breaking the world record. Setting a world record requires many factors. A good result is enough," said the 28-year-old.

"What I care about is maintaining my great form and delivering my training form at my races.

"Standing on the Olympic track is my dream."

Robles, who holds the world record of 12.87 sec, remains somewhat of a mystery to Liu as they have not faced each other so far this outdoor season.

At the World Championships in Daegu last August, Liu tangled with Robles over the final hurdles.

Robles crossed the line first, but was disqualified after Liu appealed, giving the gold to Richardson and the silver to Liu.

At an indoor meet in Birmingham in February, Liu beat Robles to win the race in 7.41, while Robles was second in 7.50.

The Cuban's best time this season is 13.19 and he is scheduled to meet Liu at the Diamond League meet in Eugene, Oregon, on June 2.

A relaxed Liu said Robles was strong, but not his only threat.

"I'm expecting to race with Robles again. All the hurdlers are strong, and he is just one of them," Liu said.

(China Daily 05/21/2012 page23)