江山代有才人出,劉翔不是唯一

CHINA can produce another Liu Xiang if the former Olympic 110-meter hurdles champion retires, according to another Chinese athlete who hopes to follow in the superstar's footsteps.

中國可以再造一個劉翔，如果這位前奧運會110米欄冠軍退役，據另一位希望緊隨這位超級明星腳步的中國運動員透露。

Liu, China's first Olympic track and field gold medalist, became a national hero with his victory at Athens 2004 but caused heartbreak in Beijing four years later when he pulled out of the final with a right Achilles injury.

劉翔，中國第一枚奧運田徑金牌得主，在2004年雅典奧運會勝利後成爲了一個民族英雄，但四年後在北京他由於右跟腱損傷而退出決賽卻使人心碎。

Another dramatic exit with a similar problem followed at London 2012 and his Achilles troubles mean he will miss the entire 2013 season, leading some media reports to question whether he will ever return.

因類似問題的另一個戲劇性退場出現在2012年的倫敦，他的跟腱問題意味着他將錯過整個2013年賽季，導致一些媒體報道質疑他是否會回來。

Now many Chinese fans are pinning their hopes on Xie Wenjun, who came third in the 60-meter hurdles at February's Athletics Grand Prix in Birmingham.

現在許多中國粉絲都把希望寄託在謝文駿身上，在2月的伯明翰田徑大獎賽60米欄中排第三。

"China has a lot of top athletes, especially in the men's 110 hurdles," the 22-year-old told reporters yesterday, on the eve of the Shanghai Diamond League meeting, in response to questions about Liu's future.

“中國有很多頂級的運動員，尤其是在男子110米欄上，”這位22歲的運動員昨日在鑽石聯賽上海站前夕迴應對劉翔未來的質疑時告訴記者。

"Liu Xiang is not here, and we all hope he returns, but he is not the only one. I hope that tomorrow Chinese athletes show the world that we are also talented and can achieve very good results."

“劉翔不在這裏，我們都希望他回來，但他不是唯一的那一個。我希望明天中國運動員能向世界展示我們也有天分而且可以取得很好的成績。”

Reigning Olympic champion Aries Merritt and silver medalist Jason Richardson go head-to-head in the 110 hurdles again, one of the most hotly anticipated events of the Shanghai meeting.

奧運衛冕冠軍阿里斯•梅里特和銀牌獲得者賈森•理查德森在110米欄中再次不分上下，這是最熱切期待的上海站比賽之一。

Merritt said he expected that if Liu chose to return he would come back "in tip-top form", as he did when beat both the London 2012 top two with a stunning performance at last year's Shanghai Diamond meeting.

梅里特表示他預計如果劉翔選擇重返賽場他會以“一流的狀態”回來，正如他在去年的鑽石聯賽上海站上以驚人的表現擊敗2012年倫敦奧運會的前兩名。

But the world record holder expected new stars to come through in Liu's absence if the Shanghai native decided to call it a day, saying: "I think the hurdling game will continue to thrive."

但是這位世界紀錄保持者期待在劉翔缺席時（如果這位上海本地人決定收工回家）有新的明星到來，他說道:“我認爲跨欄比賽將繼續繁榮。”

American compatriot Richardson added: "This event has been taken to another level, another place, another time, so there is always going to be another hurdler that emerges."

美國同胞理查德森補充說:“這項比賽已經被帶到了另一個水平，另一個地方，另一個時點，所以總是會有另一個跨欄運動員出現。”

Merritt is one of seven current Olympic champions in Shanghai, where British long jump gold medalist Greg Rutherford is also competing against champions from Athens and Beijing - as well as the silver medalist from London.

梅里特是當前在上海的七個奧運冠軍之一，英國跳遠金牌得主Greg Rutherford也要與來自雅典和北京的奧運冠軍競爭——以及倫敦的銀牌得主。