Lui Xiang is one of the most widely loved Chinese Olympic athletes, but he's once again leaving the games prematurely and in complete disappointment.
Xiang, who was one of the gold medal favorites coming into the event, couldn't even clear the first hurdle during his 110-meter heat Tuesday. He violently hit the track, injuring his right leg.
Here's how it happened:
Xiang was ready to go, waving to the crowd as his name was announced right before the race began
But his left foot hit the first hurdle straight on
Xiang took a really bad tumble
It looked even worse from a distance
The crowd couldn't believe it
But he still finished the race in symbolic fashion, hopping around on one leg before Jackson Quiñonez of Spain and Andrew Turner of Great Britain carried him off the track (officially, Xiang's performance went down as a "DNF")
Xiang would leave in a wheelchair to get his right Achilles tendon examined. He had to withdraw from the Beijing games in 2008 because of a similar injury.
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