China's Olympic 110 metres hurdles champion and main hope for a track and field gold Liu Xiang pulled out of his opening race this morning. The people's hero was struggling with an Achilles strain prior to the race and could be seen tentatively testing it out prior to the start of the Heat. When a fellow competitor false started Liu emerged out of the blocks with the rest of the field but immediately pulled up and pulled out, prompting a mass exodus of home fans from the Bird's Nest stadium.
His departure takes the gloss off an otherwise magnificent Games for China, who are leading with 35 golds on Day Ten and look uncatchable, even by the perennial leading medal-winners United States. The US currently has 19.
Along with NBA basketball player Yao Ming, Liu is China's best-known sportsman. He became his country's first male Olympic champion on the track in Athens 2004 and was China's best hope of an athletics gold in Beijing.
Posters of the athlete adorn practically every building in Beijing and there was enormous pressure on him to perform in one of the glamour events of the Game
Not everyone will be crestfallen, however. World record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba breezed through his heat and is now firm favourite for the gold.
In heat one, Robles clocked 13.39 seconds, followed by Andrew Turner of Britain and China's new hope Ji Wei.