Liu crashes out of hurdles; Bolt coasts in 200 heats

London, England – Former Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China hopped to the finish and left the track in a wheelchair Tuesday morning after crashing out of his heat in the 110-meter hurdles.

Liu struck the first hurdle with his left lead foot, tumbled to the ground and clutched at his right ankle before getting up and trying to leave the track through the tunnel.

He came back out and hopped to the finish instead, where Great Britain's Andrew Turner and Spain's Jackson Quinonez helped him into a wheelchair.

"I regard him as the best hurdler in history and I have so much respect for him," said Turner, who won the heat. "It was horrible to see him limp off like that so I had to go and help him.

"He's a nice guy and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I saw him warming up and noticed that he had an Achilles problem."

Liu was the first Chinese man to win an Olympic track title in 2004 when he equaled the 110 world record in a surprising win.

But he pulled out of his heat at Beijing four years ago, a huge disappointment for China's home Olympics, and had Achilles tendon surgery. He still has the Olympic record in the event at 12.91 seconds.

Usain Bolt, after winning his heat for the men's 200 meters Tuesday morning, called Liu "one of the best" and offered his sympathies.

"It's really sad," Bolt said.

Bolt is trying to become the first man to win the 200 meters in back-to-back Olympics. On Sunday, he joined Carl Lewis as the only men to win the 100 in consecutive games.

Semifinals for the race are Wednesday and the final is Thursday.

Bolt ran a 20.39 to win the first heat, easing up at the end of the race, and Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake crossed in 20.38 seconds to win his heat. The fastest time was turned in by Ecuador's Alex Quinonez, a 20.28, while Americans Isiah Young, Maurice Mitchell and Wallace Spearmon also moved on.

American Aries Merritt qualified fastest in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.07 seconds.