![]() If anything, the decade since has produced growing discord between communist North and capitalist South. This will bring us closer to reunification.” When North and South Korea marched together under one flag during the 2000 Parade of Nations, observers hoped that it would portend a lasting peace.Įchoing the sentiment of the day, North Korean diver Choe Myong Hwa told the Los Angeles Times, “My heart is exhilarated. To lose him in so public a manner was more heartbreak than many of his countrymen could handle. Liu was a token of Chinese pride-proof that the hosts could triumph even in traditionally weak disciplines. It wasn't simply that China had lost a potential medalist. In an instant, the most hyped athlete in China's deep stable of talent had disappeared from the Olympic stage.Īs he limped into the stadium corridor, a noticeable portion of the stunned home crowd began to cry. ![]() Right before the start of his first-round heat, a dejected Liu, who had been battling the ill effects of chronic Achilles inflammation, simply walked off the track. Sprinter Liu Xiang, a national sporting icon ever since his 2004 victory in the 110-meter hurdles, abandoned his gold-medal defense in one of the most dramatic race withdrawals ever seen at an Olympic Games. Although the Chinese won 51 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics-more than any other nation-perhaps none of those triumphs resonated as much as the one medal they didn't win.
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