Liu Xiang Wins Silver After Robles Stripped of Gold
By wchung | 09 May, 2025

China’s superstar hurdler Liu Xiang was awarded silver in the 110-meter hurdles at the Daegu world championships Monday after Cuba’s Dayron Robles was stripped of the gold medal for making contact with Liu twice.

Liu finished third with a time of 13.27 seconds after tripping on the last hurdle, behind American Jason Richardson who finished at 13.16. Robles finished first in 13.14 seconds.

“Robles hit me twice, at the ninth hurdle, he pulled at me but I’m sure it wasn’t intentional,” Liu told reporters. “I lost my balance when I came to the 10th hurdle because of this bump. If not for the incident, I would have been the gold medallist.”

Robles, in lane five, got off to a great start and took the lead over the first five hurdles. Liu in lane six gained on Robles, and appeared to be surging past him until the contact was made and he tripped on the hurdle, letting Robles and Richardson pull past him to the finish line.

“I am good friends with Robles. I don’t know what to say,” Liu added.

Robles was later disqualified by the track referee under rule 163.2 for obstruction on the track, according to an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) official who added that an appeal from Cuba had been rejected.

Robles left the stadium after his appeal failed without making any comment.

Robles had been expecting to complete the “triple crown” by adding a world championship to his Olympic gold medal and the world record.

Before the ruling Robles had played down the significance of the contacts, saying, “That’s normal in hurdles. I feel great.” On Friday he had told AP, “One mistake and you’re dead. You need a good start and you can’t make any mistakes.”

“That’s hurdling, it happens all the time,” said four-time world champion Allen Johnson. “It just so happens that this time it happened to the two fastest hurdlers ever at the world championship.”

The IAAF said an investigation is pending and the race may have to be re-run. Until then American Jason Richardson, who finished second, is world champion. Britain’s Andy Turner, who had originally finished fourth, was awarded the bronze.

“I wish that under different circumstances, he (Robles) could keep the medal but rules are rules,” Richardson told Reuters. “Anything can happen in track and field if you just do your best and stay in your lane.”

Liu, who has rarely tripped on a hurdle, had recently recovered from three injury-plagued years that began at the Beijing Olympics and appeared to be recovering his top form.

Liu was the 2004 Olympic champion. In July 2006 he set a world record of 12.88 seconds at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland. Two years later the record was broken by Robles in Ostrava, Czech Republic with a time of 12.87 seconds. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics Liu quit the race prior to the start due to a recurring Achilles’ tendon injury, and Robles won the gold medal.

Liu announced earlier this month that London will be his last Olympics, and expressed the hope that he can win gold again.