Dayron Robles must have missed Liu Xiang in the 110m hurdles line-up, for no one pushed even closer to his record of 12.87 seconds, let alone try to break it.

This is precisely where the ace Chinese hurdler could have made all the difference to the Cuban Robles and the others on the track yesterday.

(From L) David Oliver of the US, Cuba's Dayron Robles and David Payne of the US compete during the men's 110m hurdles final at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 21, 2008. Robles won the gold medal.[Agencies]

No wonder Robles said after the race: "It's disappointing Liu Xiang is not here. When he is there, you can feel his presence."

The one dream that many a Chinese had was of seeing Liu do a lap of honor with the national flag after winning the event, perhaps in record time.

It's this expectation that would have driven Liu to run the race of his life and, in the process, bring out the best in the other hurdlers too.

For the record, Robles won easily in 12.93 seconds, with US teammates David Payne and David Oliver taking the silver and the bronze in 13.17 and 13.18 seconds.

Cuba's Dayron Robles (front) celebrates as he crosses the finish line ahead of David Payne of the US (L) to win the men's 110m hurdles final at the National Stadium as part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 21, 2008. Cuba's Dayron Robles won ahead of US athletes David Payne and David Oliver. [Agencies]

Athens 2004 winner Liu withdrew from the heats with an injured Achilles tendon, and two-time Olympic silver winner Terrence Trammell was eliminated in the first round.

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