By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-27 09:24

China's men's 110m hurdles star Liu Xiang will miss next year's Golden League series in Europe to focus on training for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, his coach Sun Haiping said on Tuesday.

China's Liu Xiang competes in the men's 110m hurdles at the Daegu Athletics Meeting 2007, southeast of Seoul, October 3, 2007. [Agencies]

"The Golden League Oslo stop will clash with other competitions on our schedule and the Roma and Paris stops will be so close to the Olympic Games, so we have decided not to take part," said Sun, who is in Beijing with Liu for the closed-door winter training.

"By the end of next June, we will conclude our overseas competitions and be back to Beijing for the final preparation for the Olympics."

Sun said in order for Liu to get into his best form for the Beijing Games he will start his new season next February with an indoor competition and will go to Valencia, Spain, for the World Indoor Championships.

The Osaka Grand Prix in May, where he is undefeated in the past four years, will be Liu's first outdoor competition in 2008. After that, Liu will be back in Beijing for the test event at the National Stadium, the venue hosting the athletics events during the Games. Liu will also compete in a few races in Europe and the US before returning to Beijing for the final push to the Olympics.

Arriving in Beijing last Monday for the winter training, Liu is currently in his best form, showing particular improvement in his strength.

"Liu's level of physical strength has reached the top now, and his overall training condition is very satisfactory," said Sun. "It's a good start for him. I'm confident about our further training."

Winning nine of the 12 races he ran in 2007, Liu showed impressive consistency. He also realized his world championship dream in August in Osaka.

"I'm very satisfied with Liu's performances this year, especially his victory at the Osaka World Championships," Sun said. "He was not in best physical condition, and didn't draw the best course. But he made it."

Sun said he did not expect Liu to win all the races on tap for next year, except the Olympics of course.

"The gold medal at the Beijing Olympics is what we will strive for with every effort," he said.

Another Chinese hurdler, Shi Dongpeng, is also training with Sun in Beijing right now and is steadily progressing as well.

"They (Liu and Shi) could help each other in the winter training, it's good for both of them," Sun said. "Shi is weak in some specific strength areas and he still has to improve that."

China on the rise

Led by Liu's Worlds gold medal, China's athletes had a very successful 2007.

This year a total of 42 Chinese athletes were ranked among the top 20 in 19 different events.

At the Osaka World Championships in August, considered one of the world's most prestigious athletics competitions, China had its best results at the World Championships since 1993 in Stuttgart, winning a medal in each color. It also ranked 11th in the medal tally and seventh for the total scores at the Worlds.

Feng Shuyong, head coach of China's national track and field team, said the overall strength of China's athletics is on the rise.

"Among the 55-athlete Worlds squad, over 45 percent of the participants performed well or even outperformed themselves," said Feng. "The young athletes gain valuable experience through big games like this."

For the upcoming Olympic Games, Feng expects to send a team 70 members strong.

"At present, 59 athletes have reached the qualification standards of 30 Olympic athletics events, and I hope we can send 65 to 70 athletes to participate in 35 events at the Beijing Games," said Feng.

The Beijing Olympic Games will feature 47 track and field events.

Feng said the final list of names for the Olympic marathon runners will be decided after the Xiamen International Marathon next weekend. The rest of the athletes should be confirmed after two test events in Beijing next April and May.

"In order to allow more athletes to perform in their best form at the Beijing Games, we will lighten their mental pressure and make good use of the geographic advantages of home field," Feng said. "If half of them could perform normally, the Chinese athletes will get more chances for winning medals in track and field."

Competing at the Xiamen International Marathon will be China's middle- and long-distance star runner Sun Yingjie, back from her two-year doping ban.

Since she missed the Beijing International Marathon, a part of China's Olympic marathon trial, Sun will definitely miss qualifying for a spot on the Olympic marathon squad, but she still has a chance in the women's 5,000m and 10,000m races.

"We want Sun to find the feeling of competitions back soon and do well in the qualifications for the Beijing Games," said Sun's coach Tao Shaoming.