Stunned. By now you’ve probably heard about the shock that struck Beijing after track star Liu Xiang pulled out of the 110-meter hurdles, the race he won four years ago in Athens, becoming China’s first man to win gold in track and field. He soon became a national hero in China, racking up endorsements from Coca-Cola, Nike and Visa. He can’t be missed as is face is plastered on almost every billboard in Beijing.

Today, the scene was set as the National Stadium was packed and those that were near a TV were watching as Liu’s qualifying heat came to the track. I was watching it all unfold on the CCTV broadcast and it all felt so dramatic. It was clear from the moment he stepped on the track that things were not as they should be. At first, I thought it was just the enormous pressure he must have been feeling having the Olympic hopes of 1.3 billion people pinned to him for the last four years.