Word: medaled
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...first round. His competitors were, frankly, uninspiring - the man with the second fastest personal best, after Liu's 12.88 sec., was a Dutchman who had clocked in a relatively leisurely 13.35 sec. This was going to be the moment of glory for a man for whom a Beijing gold medal was the foremost wish among the Chinese people, according to a nationwide poll. A sea of Chinese flags waved. The Bird's Nest stadium thrummed with expectation...
After winning a surprise gold medal in the 110-m hurdles in Athens four years ago, Liu morphed from amiable jock into national stud. In 2006 he shattered the event's world record with his 12.88 time. As an Asian athlete competing in a klieg-light track event - not an international sideline sport like badminton or table tennis or synchronized diving - Liu came to personify the Chinese nation's rising ambitions. The pressure for a golden repeat in China's Games must have been overwhelming...
...epic proportions. In June, Dayron Robles, a bespectacled Cuban, shaved one-hundredth of a second off of Liu's world record. The Chinese was going into the Beijing Olympics as the underdog. (Robles easily won his Beijing heat less than an hour before Liu was scheduled to compete, while medal contender Terrence Trammell of the U.S. failed to finish his race because of an injured...
...best experience I've ever had in my life. Even though I didn't get to the finals or get a medal in the 100, it's still the best experience ever. I've never had this much fun. I lost, I didn't get a medal, and still, people want to take pictures with me [Gay waves to a gawking crowd outside a window]. People still respect you, people tell you you're still the fastest. My family still supports me. I'm sad inside. But not getting that medal didn't ruin my whole Olympics...
...into a frenzy. It was the kind of atmosphere one might imagine at the deciding game of an NBA final, but this was badminton Chinese style. And no one attracts more fervent shrieks from female fans than Super Dan - especially when he has just won his first Olympic gold medal...