China's Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Liu Xiang announced his retirement on Tuesday, ending a run in the sport marked by records and frustrated by successive late-career injuries.
Liu, 31, became an icon in China after he won the country's first Olympic men's track and field gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles in Athens in 2004. He also won a world championship in 2007 and held the world record in 2006 with a time of 12.88 seconds.
"I'm retiring. I want to start a new journey," Liu said in a message posted to his microblog, blaming injury for his decision. "Though I still have hot blood pumping through my heart, my leg has time and again told me no."