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Liu Xiang teaches quake students hurdling

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-11 17:23

CHENGDU -- Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang Monday visited students in a primary school in Beichuan County, a hard-hit area in last year's devastating May 12 earthquake, and showed them how to run hurdles.

Liu, 25 and once the world champion of 110-meter hurdling, made his visit to Sichuan Province to mark the first anniversary of the disaster, which falls on Tuesday.

Chinese hurdling star Liu Xiang waves a volunteer flag at Ping'an Hope Primary School of quake-hit Beichuan county in Sichuan province, May 11, 2009. Liu, a volunteer, showed local pupils how to run hurdles Monday ahead of the one-year anniversary of the massive May 12 Wenchuan earthquake. [Xinhua]

The gold medalist in the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 had a physical education class with students of Ping'an Hope Primary School on a 40-meter-long and 4-meter-wide aisle between the school's prefabricated buildings.

Surrounded by about 100 pupils, Liu spoke about various methods for running hurdles and demonstrated how to do it right for the pupils in about 20 minutes.

Liu also showed students how to do standard leg lifts when he saw some of them were not doing well enough.

He said it would not be a show of hurdling before his visit to the school.

Full coverage:  Sichuan, One Year On... Related readings:  Wen writes to students on quake's anniversary  One-year anniversary of Wenchuan Earthquake  Life resumes normal after last May's earthquake  Elixir of life pours into earthquake village  Quake survivors mourn as anniversary nears

"It is a memorable experience for children, even for me, to have these lessons with a world champion," said Luo, a teacher at the school.

Liu said before leaving that the time with the children was too short and promised to return.

Liu has been in training since he returned to Shanghai in March after three months in the United States, where he underwent surgery on his right ankle tendon in December.

His right ankle injury forced him out of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games despite high hopes for a gold medal in his home country, and the world is now waiting to see his comeback on the track.

The worst quake in decades left 68,712 people dead and another 17,921 missing in southwest China.

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