Liu Xiang, Sun Yang lead China to London

 　　BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- With the retirement¹ of basketball legend Yao Ming, who led the Chinese sports delegation² to the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony, Liu Xiang and Sun Yang will spearhead the Chinese athletes next year in London in pursuit of another golden harvest.

　　Struggling hard in the last three years to recover from the foot injury that dragged him off the field in a full packed Bird's Nest at the Beijing Games, star hurdler Liu Xiang is widely expected to repeat his title-winning feat³ in Athens Games in 2004, but senior sports official said that a medal of any color would be satisfactory.

　　"I think Liu is much more mature. He has recovered well from injury and has maintained good form this season," said Chinese Athletics⁴ Association (CAA) president Duan Shijie.

　　"I am convinced that he will achieve good results if he has a normal race. I think everybody will be satisfied whatever medal - gold, silver or bronze - he wins because he has spared no efforts in his sport."

　　The 28-year-old Liu, a former world record holder⁵ in the men's 110m hurdles⁶, became China's most famous athlete after winning gold at the 2004 Olympic Games and 2007 Osaka World Championships.

　　But he winced⁷ in pain and limped off the track during the men's 110m hurdles first heat at the Beijing Games, leaving the 60,000-plus spectators at the Bird's Nest stadium and millions of TV audience in shock.

　　Three years after his sudden withdrawal⁸ with the Achilles injury, Liu regained⁹ honor after dramatically taking silver at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu this August.

　　Disrupted by Dayron Robles of Cuba running next lane at the last hurdles, Liu claimed a silver in 13.27, but he had already proved his competitiveness for London.

　　"I have been through two Olympic Games. It will be just another competition," said Liu Xiang. "I will try to get myself into good shape and we will see what happens."

　　Liu Xiang will not be the only hope for Chinese track and field team in London. Newly crowned world champion Li Yanfeng in the women's discus, hammer thrower Zhang Wenxiu and a bunch of young walk racers will share Liu's burden in charging for medals in London.

　　Also in the limelight is double world champion and men's 1,500m freestyle swimming world record holder Sun Yang, who is set to be another Chinese star in focus next summer in London.

　　The 20-year-old Sun became the most famous swimmer overnight by claiming the men's 800m and 1,500m freestyle gold medals at the Shanghai World Championships and broke the 1,500m freestyle world record held by Australian Grant Hackett for 10 years.

　　"I can still swim better in the 1,500m freestyle next year. My coach has set me a new target, but it's not the right time to release it now," said Sun, who will be a strong competitor in the men's 400m and 1,500m freestyle swimming at the London Games.

　　The Chinese swimmers reaped five golds, two silvers and seven bronzes at the Shanghai World Championships in July, harvesting their best results since 1994. Next year in London, it will not be surprising if they surpass their one-gold finish at the Beijing Games.

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

4 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

5 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

6 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

7 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。