25-year old Liu Xiang -- The World's Fastest Hurdler, China's Superstar Hero and her best hope for Olympic Gold in Athletics.

Liu is China's very first Triple Crown Holder in Athletics -- as the World Champion, Olympic Champion and World Record Holder at the same time.
The secret of his success?
He thanks many people, especially his grandmother, who raised him, while his parents, a truck driver and pastry cook, worked full time.

Liu competed against other athletes like these in the high jump and performed well. But when he did not grow tall enough to excel like these athletes, Liu's coach moved him into hurdles, where his coach said his technique at first was "terrible."
But they trained to make his movement fluid and supple. And soon Liu could skim over the barriers with little loss of momentum.
At the 2004 Athens Games, he burst onto the scene when he captured GOLD. He followed up in 2006 by setting the World Record, then in 2007 and 2008, he captured GOLD at the World Championships.

Now he is the favorite to win the 110 Meters again -- this time in Beijing, with the support of his 1.3 billion hometown fans.

Liu became the first athlete of non-African descent to go under 13 seconds in his event. "I want to prove to all the world that Asians can run very fast," he says. "Considering the physiology of the Chinese people, it is something unbelievable." (less info)