China's 110m hurdle athlete Liu Xiang arrives at Heathrow International Airport in London, capital of Britain, July 11, 2012. Liu will attend the star-studded Aviva London Grand Prix at the Crystal Palace on July 13-14. After that, he will stay in Europe to prepare for the 2012 London Olympic Games. (Xinhua/Wang Lili)
China's high hurdler Liu Xiang arrived here on Wednesday aiming for a second Olympic gold medal after his first win in Athens eight years ago.
He will first compete in the IAAF Diamond League London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on Friday, which will be his last warmup event before the Olympic Games.
"I have never taken the Diamond League event as a serious competition," he told Chinese reporters at the Heathrow Airport. "I am very relaxed and will not give myself too much pressure."
Liu will not join China's training camp in Leeds, choosing to stay in London for his pre-Olympic training.
He is scheduled to run his first race in the heat of the Olympic Games on August 7. The men's 110 meters hurdles semifinal and final will be both held on August 8, which is the fourth anniversary of the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games.
Liu, as the favorite of winning the title at home, shocked the world four years ago at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium by pulling out in the semifinals in front of a capacity home crowd, citing an Achilles injury.
He has regained form in the past year, winning the silver and narrowly missing the title at last year's world championships. He registered a world record-tying time of 12.87 seconds assisted by wind.
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