| XIANG LOOKING FOR DOUBLE CELEBRATION |
XIANG LOOKING FOR DOUBLE CELEBRATION
 Chinese athletics star Liu Xiang will be hoping to enjoy a double celebration during his time in Sheffield.
The 110m hurdles Olympic champion is 24 on Friday (July 13) - two days before competing in the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at Don Valley Stadium.
Xiang admitted: “I think I’ll go to a local Chinese restaurant with my coach and have some champagne and a piece of cake!
“But my birthday is not the most important thing at the moment, the race on Sunday is what I am concentrating on.”
Xiang is a huge sporting celebrity in his home country and has been dubbed the David Beckham of China. He is on his first visit to Sheffield and when he arrived at Don Valley Stadium to meet the media he was greeted by more than 50 local Chinese students all wanting to get his picture.
“It feels good to compete in Europe and see different cities and experience different cultures,” said Xiang. “I feel more like a traveller than an athlete at the moment. Because of the attention it’s hard for me to go walking around back home, but I can do that more freely here.
“This is my third time in the UK but the first to Sheffield and hopefully I can run a good race. We still don’t know what the weather is going to be like, but if there is no wind, I could get a good time.”
Xiang shot to stardom after breaking the 110m hurdles world record, but he still has a hunger to run even quicker.
He added: “If I can improve my start over the first three hurdles and gain more strength then maybe I can break the record again. I don’t think it’s too important to set a new record because I have already run a fast time. I just try to do my best, give a good performance and enjoy each competition.”
Meanwhile, Sheffield-based Hatti Dean is looking forward to the event in front of her home crowd. Hatti moved to the city from Oxford three years ago to do a masters degree in statistics.
Britain’s number one steeplechaser says: “Even though I still run for Oxford, I see myself being from Sheffield now, so this will be a home event for me. I have never run in front of a big crowd in Sheffield before so it should be a good atmosphere.
“My main competition will be from the two Jamaican girls and only a few of the top British girls will be there. I want to run well on home soil and start being in a confident frame of mind for next weeks trails in Manchester.”
Hatti, 25, set a new British record in the 3000m steeplechase when she clinched victory at the European Cup last month.
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