LiuXiangafterhiswinatthe10thChineseNationalGames(JiroMochizuki-AgenceSHOT)

　　Duringthecourseofnearly16monthssinceLiuXiangbecameOlympic110mHurdleschampion,equallingtheWorldrecordinAthens,wehavereportedonawhirlwindofawardsandaccoladeswhichhaveblowninthedirectionofthe22-year-oldShanghaibornstar.

　　AsthefirstevermaleChineseathletetowinagoldmedalinOlympictrackandfieldhistory,LiuXianghasbeenfetedthroughoutthiscountryofonebillioninhabitants.Aswellasreceivinglucrativesponsorshipcontractswhichhaveplacedhiminthetop-threeinthenationalearningslistforentertainersandsportscelebrities,aschooltextbook,andashorttheatricalplayhavebeendevisedaroundhislife.Hehasalsotakenupanationalpublicityrolefrontingacampaigntoincreasepublicawarenessaboutenvironmentalprotection,andalsoacivicpositionasanambassadortopromotehishomecityofShanghai.

　　Keyname

　　TheWorldChampionshipsilvermedallist,whoiscurrentlytheIAAFWorldRankednumber4forhisevent,continuestodonowronginhisroleasanationalicon.LastmonthabrownsculpturebasedonhisWorldrecordfinishinAthenswentondisplayataparkinShanghai.ThenearlyinDecemberaChineseinternetsearchengineBaidu.comreleasedalistofitsmostpopularkeywordsaccordingtohitsfrominternetusers,andyes,you’veguessedit,thehottestsportsnamewas“LiuXiang”.

　　LiuXiang’sstardomissoaring,whichissomewhatappropriategiventhat“Xiang”inChinesemeans"tofly".

　　Yetwhilehecouldn’tmanagequiteenoughstrengthtoswoopaheadofFrenchmanLadjiDoucouréthissummerinHelsinki,intheacademicfieldnothinghasbeenlefttochance.LiuXianghasrecentlybeenfasttrackedintoadoctoralprogrammeofstudyattheSchoolofSportsandHealthCareattheEastChinaNormalUniversity,withouthavingtoprovideanyintellectualcredentials.

　　China’sXinhuanewsagency,reportingonLiuXiang’sunconditionalacceptanceontothecoursequotedthewordsofTheShanghaiDaily,“suchisavery’Chinese’logic-theauthorityandhonouronegainsinacertainfieldprevails,andbringsthepersonbiggerauthorityandhonourinliterallyeveryotherfield…atypicalChinesestyle,cross-fieldmeritocracy.”

　　LiuXianghasbeen"awarded"admissionintoafive-yearsportsmanagementprogrammeandistrustedtosucceedintheacademicworldashehasdoneinsports.However,consideringthattheUniversityhaspreparedaspecialadvisoryteamofmorethan10professorstocatertoLiuXiang’sneeds,nothingisbeinglefttochance.

　　TheOlympicchampionhascertainlybeengivenaheadstart,andwithsuchanarrayofadvisorstoassisthim,thereislittledoubtthatwhateverdemandshissportingcommitmentsplaceonhisscholarlypursuitsintheperiodrunninguptothedefenceofhisOlympictitleinBeijing2008,theappearanceof“Dr.LiuXiang”onastartlist,sometime,somewhere,canonlybeamatteroftime.