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June 5, 2011

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Liu to skip pre-worlds Europe meets

FOOT pain will keep China's former Olympic champion Liu Xiang from running in Europe ahead of the world championships, his coach said on Friday.

The decision is part of a cautious build-up to the 2012 London Olympics for the former world record holder, who had Achilles surgery in 2008.

"Every time after hard training, he still feels a little bit of reaction," Sun Haiping said.

"His heel is okay, just fine, but I really do not want more meets to make it worse. He still needs to do some rehab training every day."

Liu will emphasize recovery and maintaining his fitness this season, Sun said, adding, "Next year we will do more meets."

After competing in yesterday's Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon, the 2005 world champion will take part in perhaps one more meeting in Asia before the world championships in August in Daegu, South Korea, the coach said.

Liu and American David Oliver, two of the fastest hurdlers of all-time, will clash for the second time in less than a month at the Oregon meeting.

Liu posted the season's co-leading time while defeating Oliver in Shanghai on May 15. The victory snapped Oliver's 18-meet win streak. "I know he will want to beat me," Liu said, adding he still felt a strain in various parts of his body at times because of hard training.

As a precaution, Sun said he would not push Liu to run faster than 13 seconds this year.

Liu's personal best is 12.88 seconds with Cuban world record holder Dayron Robles a hundredth of a second faster. Oliver has run 12.89.

On Friday, European champion Mo Farah shocked a world-class 10,000-meter field with a continental record of 26 minutes, 46.57 seconds for a dramatic win.

The Briton clipped nearly six seconds off Belgian Mohammed Mourhit's 1999 European mark of 26:52.30. His previous best was 27:28.86.

Farah, 28, beat top-ranked Ethiopian Imane Merga by more than 10 meters; Merga clocked 26:48.35 with Josphat Bett third in 26:48.99.

Kenyan world champion Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's 5,000 in 14:33.96, the fastest time ever in America. Compatriot Linet Masai, the 10,000 world champion, trailed by more than two seconds.



 

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