Liu Xiang to attend Shanghai Golden Grand Prix

Oh (golden) boy! News has it that celebrated track and field star and hometown favorite Liu Xiang will be competing at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix later this month. The Golden Grand Prix will serve as both a comeback and a homecoming for the track star, whose presence on the international sports scene has been sorely missed by China.

Liu had surgery on his right foot in December and missed last month's athletics World Championships, so his participation in the event was questionable at best. However, he has finally recovered enough to participate in his first race since last year's Olympics.

From USA Today:

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang will make a comeback from a yearlong injury absence at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix event later this month.

His doctor said Liu's foot injury had healed enough for him to compete in the race on Sept. 20, according to a statement released by the Shanghai organizers on Saturday.

Liu walked off the track during his 2008 Beijing Olympic heat with a foot injury, and his recovery has taken longer than initially expected.

"Liu's recovery training has been a systematic process, and competing in various competitions is an important part of it," organizers said.

Though Usain Bolt has officially dropped out of the competition, the addition of golden boy will make for an exciting event: Liu will be competing in the 110m hurdles against Terrence Trammell, the silver medalist in the same competition at the 2004 Olympics, where Liu tied the world record. Is Trammell out for vengeance? Or will Liu Xiang pull a karate kid-esque move and come back from behind, despite his injuries? Adding olympic gold medalist Yelena Isinbayeva to the mix, the Golden Grand Prix should turn out to be a pretty great event.

Tickets are still on sale, with a buy-two-get-one-free offer on their website, Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.

Photo: ricealter.smamda.org