Many local media shows and online forums have speculated about the psychological pressure Liu was under with the aspirations of an entire nation weighing on him. Everyone wanted him to win at home. With 1.3 billion people expecting a victory, there cannot be any other athlete to have ever been under the gun in this way and tickets for the 110-meter hurdles final were the most prized possession in the country.

I spoke to several colleagues and friends about their thoughts on the sad news. Most were devastated despite trying to put on a brave face. Some said his time has passed and he should run through his pain. Others said his injury must be really serious to keep him out. Interestingly, it seemed that people were not even aware that Liu was carrying an injury, something which will no doubt lead to much debate. Liu's coach said it was an old injury that has resurfaced-at the worst possible time.

One colleague said the blow dealt by the news went deeper than just sports. She told me that China needed heroes like Liu to lift up the nation's spiritual consciousness and that with the Olympics coming after the Sichuan earthquake, the feeling of Chinese returning to their deeply rooted culture of caring, being united and working as a team was now evident. It was a new form of nationalism, a kind of modern revolution, she said, where people realized they had the power to change and unify. And Liu's heroics on the track were an integral part of this unification process.

At the press conference that followed the news, Xinhua reported Liu's coach Sun Haiping was in tears. Liu wasn't at the conference and one can only imagine how he must have been feeling. "His Achilles tendon in his right foot was seriously hurt again this morning before the race. With the bad injury Liu shivered when receiving immediate medical treatment of three sports doctors," Sun said.

China has shivered at the news too. Beijing is a very somber place at the moment. Despite China already having taken the lead in gold medals and excelling in all aspects of this sporting gala, everyone was in agreement that the 110-meter hurdles was the one gold medal that was prized above all else.