China's great track and field hope, 2004 Olympic gold medal hurdler and former world-record holder Liu Xiang showed up to cheer at the 2009 Beijing International Long-distance Running Festival over the weekend, the China Daily reports. Though he didn't run, thousands of cheering fans turned up to see him。

　　This was Liu's second public appearance since returning to China after three months in the U.S., during which he underwent surgery for the injured foot that forced him to pull out of the Beijing Olympics last summer。

　　Last month, Liu made his debut on the political stage in Beijing when he attended the meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, of which Liu is a member。

　　The 25-year-old hurdler is said to be recovering quickly and recently resumed his training in Shanghai. Many Chinese have expressed sympathy for him and eagerly await his return to the track, but others say his moment has passed, according to this Chinese-language report from Xinhua。

　　Liu's longtime coach, Sun Haiping, told the China Daily that Liu is unlikely to defend his title at the World Championships in Berlin in August and suggested a return later in the year as more realistic。

　　'Attending the World Championships in August is too rushed for him, so attending the competition in September or October is a better choice,' Sun said, according to the China Daily。

　　Sun previously said that Liu might be able to compete in Berlin. Liu set a world record in the event in 2005, when he ran it in 12.88 seconds. (A new record of 12.87 seconds was established in June by Dayron Robles, who also took the gold in Beijing)。

　　Chinese media have set their sights on the IAAF Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in September for Liu's return. But last week, Liu said that it's all still up in the air and depends on his recovery, according to media reports in Chinese. He said he's almost certain to skip the competition in Berlin, though he may be present to cheer on his fellow teammates. (Reports in Chinese here and here)。

　　据《中国日报》(China Daily)报导，中国田径的希望、2004年奥运会跨栏冠军、前世界纪录保持者刘翔周末现身2009年国际长跑节现场，为比赛加油助威。虽然刘翔并未参加比赛，但数千名欢呼不已的体育迷纷纷翘首寻找他的身影。

　　这是刘翔回到北京后第二次公开露面，此前他因脚伤而在美国接受了为期三个月的治疗，并进行了手术。去年夏季，刘翔因伤退出北京奥运会的比赛。

　　刘翔上个月在上海训练时的情景刘翔回国后首次公开露面是上个月在北京参加全国政协会议。刘翔是全国政协委员。

　　这位25岁的跨栏运动员据称恢复很快，最近已在上海重新开始训练。许多中国民众向他表示慰问，并急切地盼望他重回赛场，但新华网的一篇报导说，刘翔的时代已经结束。

　　一直担任刘翔教练的孙海平对《中国日报》表示，刘翔不太可能出战今年8月在柏林举行的世界田径锦标赛，并暗示今年晚些时候回到赛场更为现实。

　　据《中国日报》的报导，孙海平说，参加8月份的世锦赛对刘翔来说有些操之过急，因此参加9月或10月的赛事是更好的选择。

　　孙海平此前曾说刘翔有可能参加柏林的比赛。2005年世锦赛，刘翔以12.88秒的成绩打破世界纪录。(2008年6月，古巴选手罗伯斯(Dayron Robles)以12.87秒刷新世界纪录，并在北京奥运会上夺冠。)

　　中国媒体纷纷认为刘翔将在今年9月在上海举办的国际田联黄金大奖赛回归赛场。但据中国媒体报道，刘翔上周称一切都还悬而未决，取决于他的恢复情况。他表示几乎可以确定将无缘世锦赛，但他会到现场为队友加油。