Now, he is a world-record holder.

China's Liu set a world mark in the 110 meters hurdles, breaking the record he shared with Britain's Colin Jackson. Liu's time of 12.88 seconds at the Athletissima Grand Prix meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland was .03 better than the record he matched in winning gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Dominique Arnold of the United States was second in 12.90, which was also faster than the previous record. Another American, Terrence Trammell, placed third in 13.02.

"I can't believe it, I can't express it," Liu said. "I had a good start and after the first five hurdles, it was a perfect race."

Liu was a high jumper back in fifth grade when he was advised to give up sports after a bone test revealed he would remain too short to become a world-class athlete.

He became China's first sprint Olympic gold medalist in Athens, and topped the mark he shared with Jackson, who ran 12.91 in Stuttgart, Germany, in August 1993.

Liu later ran a victory lap, shirtless and flailing his arms before climbing to sit on the red metal clock on the field that showed his record time.

"I wanted to break the record last year, but it wasn't working," Liu said. "I think I can still run even faster."

Liu, who switched from the high jump to hurdles in 1998, has always done well on this Pontaise track.

"It is my place of good luck and joy. I always feel so good here," the Shanghai-born athlete said. "I've beaten the world record again here. I already beat the junior world record here. Thank you, Lausanne. It's wonderful. It's crazy."

On this track in 2002 - running in the B race for lack of space in a star- studded main event that included Jackson, four-time world champion Allen Johnson, and then-Olympic champion Anier Garcia - Liu clocked 13.12, toppling Renaldo Nehemiah's junior mark that stood since 1978.

The following year, Liu won a bronze medal at the world championships, establishing himself as a medal contender for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, though perhaps not for the gold.

However, Liu delivered a near- perfect performance in the Athens heat, winning by almost three meters to equal Jackson's world record.

Since the Olympics, though, he has rarely come close to his record time, clocking a 13.08 to take silver at the world championships in Helsinki last year.

And only last Saturday, Liu struggled to a fourth-place finish in Paris.

ASSOCIATED PRESS