The hopes of a nation were dashed Monday when China's favorite sporting son Liu Xiang was forced to withdraw from the 110 m hurdles competition due to an Achilles tendon injury.
Despite lining up for his first-round heat, the man whose face adorns a thousand advertising billboards played no part in the actual race, which was delayed by a false start.
As he walked off the track clutching his right thigh, his hopes of retaining his Olympic title went with him.
A spectator cries after China's Liu Xiang failed to compete in the men's first round 110m hurdles heat 6 at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 18, 2008. [Agencies] Fans cry as Liu quits
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Spectator He Sheng from Beijing said: "I'm extremely disappointed.
"I think maybe he wanted to win too much and caved under the pressure."
Liu, who won hurdling gold in Athens in 2004, was China's best hope for success on the track.
Fang Zhen, who was also in the crowd, said: "It was a disappointment, of course, because we all came hoping to see him win. But this is a sports competition, so we understand.
"I just hope he can overcome his injury soon and win more medals in the future."
Despite the disappointment, many said Liu was right to pull out if he plans to prolong his athletics career.
Katharine Merry, who won bronze for Great Britain in the 400 m at the 2000 Sydney Games, said she has had similar injuries and that Liu made the right decision to withdraw.
"It's very sad, but if you have an Achilles problem you just can't run," she said.
"I could feel he was in a lot of pain. And I would have been devastated if I'd been in Liu's position because I would have known I would be letting a lot of people down," she said.
Zhang Wei, who helped the track star write his autobiography, said Liu had done all he could to compete despite the excruciating pain.
"I only found out a couple of weeks ago that the injury was serious enough to affect Liu's chances of competing in the Olympics," Zhang said.
While spectators wept for Liu Xiang at the Bird's Nest, in a Beijing hotel room, his parents shed their tears in private as they watched the saddening events unfold on live TV, Eastday.com reported.
But Liu's father, Liu Xuegen, was stoical about his son's misfortune. "We can accept what happened; we'll come back again, son," he was quoted by the website as saying.
China Daily-Agencies