World record holder Liu Xiang took sweet revenge on American Allen Johnson as the 23-year-old Chinese rallied to win the men's 110m hurdles at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix on Saturday.

 

To the joy of a 40,000-strong home crowd, Liu delivered with a 13.07 seconds, come-from-behind victory, pipping Johnson, who defeated him last week at the World Cup in Athens.

 

Crossing the finish line, Liu thrust his index finger in the air and let out a yell as the stadium erupted into wild cheers.

 

"I started slowly, but I ran very well in the second half of the race," said Liu, who set the world record of 12.88 seconds in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July.

 

"Though I didn't run under 13 seconds, overall, I am very satisfied with my performance," added the Shanghai native.

 

Johnson, four-time world champion, surged ahead after the startgun, but clipped the last hurdle as Liu roared past. The 35-year-old Johnson came second in 13.09.

 

"Liu ran really fast in the later half of the race," said Johnson. "I felt exhausted."

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2006)