Liu's ambitions were checked when, despite being favourite to win his pet event in front of home fans at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was forced to pull out with an Achilles injury in his first-round heat.虽然主场参赛的刘翔是2008北京奥运会的热门,但他的雄心壮志却因第一轮热身中的跟腱拉伤退赛而终止。At the 2012 Olympics in London, Liu was disappointed again by injury, crashing out of competition after stumbling on the first hurdle and ending his hopes of regaining the Olympic title.2012年伦敦奥运会,刘翔再次因伤病而倍感失望。他在第一栏摔倒后被淘汰,终结了他重夺奥运冠军的希望。Liu's retirement makes him the latest world class Chinese athlete to sign off from competition in recent years, after the country's first grand slam tennis champion Li Na retired in September and former NBA basketball centre Yao Ming walked away from the sport in 2011.这些年离开赛场的中国世界级体育选手中,刘翔是距今最近的一位。2011年前NBA中锋姚明退役。去年9月,中国首位网球大满贯得主李娜也宣布挂拍。