Liu Xiang madness has returned to China, with fans auctioning ripped-up pieces of the track star’s clothes that he tossed into the crowd after winning his third national 110m hurdle title.
Internet chatrooms in China have been abuzz over Liu’s post-race stripteases at the National Games in the eastern city of Jinan, according to press reports.
The 2004 Athens Olympic champion was left wearing only his shorts after throwing his shirt into the crowd during a victory lap around the Olympic Sports Center in Jinan, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.
Liu again stripped after the gold medal ceremony, this time shedding his tracksuit and tossing it to his fans who ripped it to shreds fighting over it, the newspaper said.
“The starting price for those who want to buy a piece of Liu Xiang’s tracksuit is 30,000 yuan (US$4,400),” the paper said, citing a posting on an Internet auction site.
Liu’s win was his first since coming back from surgery on an Achilles tendon that kept him from running at last year’s Beijing Olympics, where he had been promoted as an icon of Chinese sports.
The win and his post-surgery best race time of 13.15 seconds has further raised hopes that Liu can return to top form.
Liu, whose star power pulled in a sell-out crowd of nearly 60,000 fans, has become one of China’s richest athletes and has made a killing from lucrative sponsorships with US shoe giant Nike and beverage maker Coca-Cola.
(AFP)
劉翔再度在中國刮起旋風，這位田徑明星運動員第三度拿下全國一百一十公尺跨欄項目冠軍後，將衣服丟向觀眾席，結果有粉絲把他的衣服碎片放上網拍賣。
媒體報導，劉翔在濟南（中國東部）全運會賽後的脫衣之舉，引起中國網友在網路聊天室熱烈討論。
據《羊城晚報》報導，這位二ＯＯ四年雅典奧運金牌得主離開濟南奧體中心體育場時僅穿著一件短褲，因為他在勝利繞場一周時將衣服丟向觀眾席。
報導指出，劉翔在頒獎儀式上又再次脫衣，這次他脫下田徑服拋向觀眾席，支持觀眾爭相搶奪，衣褲被撕成碎片。
該報導引述某拍賣網站上一則貼文說：「劉翔的運動服碎片起標價三萬人民幣（四千四百美元）」。
這是劉翔阿基里斯腱手術復出後第一場優勝，他去年因該傷退出以他為宣傳主軸的北京奧運。
讓他奪冠的十三秒一五成績也是他術後的最佳成績，這樣的表現更增添了民眾對劉翔恢復以往最佳狀態的信心。
劉翔的明星光環為他吸引了近六萬名粉絲到場，為美國運動鞋大廠耐吉和飲料製造商可口可樂代言荷包滿滿的他，已搖身一變成為中國身價最高的運動員之一。（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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