Former Olympic champion Liu Xiang has formally severed ties with the Shanghai Sports Bureau after an 11-year post-retirement arrangement that has now become the subject of public controversy. In a Sept. 10 Weibo post (a popular app in China), Liu said he had completed the process of leaving the state sports system earlier in the month and received 494,000 yuan, or about USD $73,000, in compensation.

He also disclosed that he had donated all 982,935 yuan in salary and subsidies received since his retirement in April 2015 to the China Charity Federation for mudslide relief in Tibet. “After so many days, since I still haven’t received an official result, I’ll say it myself,” Liu wrote.

He said he completed the buyout on Sept. 1 and would thereafter have “no further affiliation” with the Sports Bureau. The Shanghai Sports Bureau later confirmed that Liu had submitted an application for independent employment on Sept. 1, signed the relevant agreement, and largely completed the personnel-transfer process by Sept. 7.

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An 11-year unresolved arrangement

The dispute drew attention because Liu, one of the most celebrated athletes in Chinese sports history, said he had never been assigned an actual post after retiring. “The official explanation says this was handled according to regulations concerning those ‘on the payroll but not in their posts,’” Liu wrote. “Since my retirement, I have never received any staffing assignment or position.”

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He questioned why the matter was only being addressed more than a decade later. “I respect the regulations and accept that there may have been oversights, but regulations should never become an excuse,” Liu wrote, adding, “Just like becoming a coach or accepting a buyout, after 11 years, these are no longer choices.”

The Shanghai Sports Bureau offered a somewhat different account, saying it had discussed several potential placements with Liu, including roles at an athletics center, as a technical director, or at sports universities. It said Liu ultimately chose independent employment and that the bureau “fully respects” his decision to go their separate ways.

Salary donated to Tibet relief

Liu’s decision to donate more than 982,000 yuan in accumulated salary and subsidies quickly became one of the most-discussed aspects of the case. According to his Weibo post, the full amount was transferred Sept. 2 to the China Charity Federation for relief efforts following deadly mudslides in Tibet’s Gyirong County. The charity launched a public fundraising campaign for the disaster in late August.

The Shanghai Sports Bureau publicly praised the donation, saying it held Liu’s decision to direct the money toward disaster relief “in high regard.” The donation was especially note-worthy because Liu gave away the full amount of salary and subsidies he had received from the bureau since retiring in 2015, effectively removing one of the central points of contention in the public debate over whether he had continued benefiting financially from the state sports system without holding an active post.

The episode also reopened a broader discussion in China about how elite athletes are treated after leaving competition. Liu used his post to urge sports authorities to provide retired athletes with more flexible options rather than imposing standardized career paths years after their competitive careers have ended. He wrote that retired athletes had given up “their entire youth and health,” with some left carrying permanent injuries into retirement, unable to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

From national icon to controversial figure

Liu rose to national prominence after winning the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics in 12.91 seconds, equaling the world record at the time. His victory made him one of China’s most recognizable athletes and a symbol of the country’s growing ambitions in international sport.

His later career was marked by repeated Achilles injuries. He withdrew from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and crashed out of the 2012 London Games after rupturing his Achilles tendon, ending what had once been one of China’s most celebrated and well-known track careers.

Now, more than a decade after his retirement, Liu’s break with the Shanghai Sports Bureau has shifted attention away from his racing legacy and toward a less visible question: How China’s state-run sports system manages former champions once their competitive value has faded.

Original article