Liu Xiang remains China's only Olympic gold medal winner on the track 17 years after his triumph in Athens, but for Su Bingtian — Asia's fastest man — one of his country's greatest heroes is more than an icon.
Su finished sixth in the men's 100 meters final on Sunday after qualifying joint-fastest to give China its most high-profile male athletics performance since Liu won gold in the 110m hurdles in Athens in 2004.
"He's not just my idol, but maybe also my lucky charm," said Su of Liu. "I'm extremely thankful to him. He was the pioneer of China's athletics sport.