World record holder Liu Xiang took sweet revenge on American
Allen Johnson as the 23-year-old Chinese rallied to win the men's
110m hurdles at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix on Saturday.
To the joy of a 40,000-strong home crowd, Liu delivered with a
13.07 seconds, come-from-behind victory, pipping Johnson, who
defeated him last week at the World Cup in Athens.
Crossing the finish line, Liu thrust his index finger in the air
and let out a yell as the stadium erupted into wild cheers.
"I started slowly, but I ran very well in the second half of the
race," said Liu, who set the world record of 12.88 seconds in
Lausanne, Switzerland, in July.
"Though I didn't run under 13 seconds, overall, I am very
satisfied with my performance," added the Shanghai native.
Johnson, four-time world champion, surged ahead after the
startgun, but clipped the last hurdle as Liu roared past. The
35-year-old Johnson came second in 13.09.
"Liu ran really fast in the later half of the race," said
Johnson. "I felt exhausted."
(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2006)
