ATHENS, Aug. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese athlete Liu Xiang described his winning performance in Friday night's men's 110m hurdle final as a miracle and promised to deliver more miracles in the rest of his athletics career.

    The new star stormed to take the men's 110m hurdle for China's first gold medal in the athletics of the Athens Olympics, becoming the first Chinese man to stand on the Olympic podium since 1984 when Zhu Jianhua won a high jump bronze medal.

    "I didn't expect to run within 13 seconds, let alone tying the world record set by (Allen) Johnson. It is kind of a miracle," Liu told reporters at the post-match press conference.

    "But trust me, I will work more wonders in the future," said Liu, who stood second on the 2004 rankings prior to the Games.

    Liu, who had twice run an Asian record of 13.06 seconds this year, beat a final field including Frenchman Ladji Doucoure and Anler Garcia of Cuba. Olympic champion Allen Johnson failed to qualify for the final.

    "Don't think in the old way that Asians are always weaker than European and American runners in the sprint events. My performance showed that yellow-skinned athletes can also outrun black athletes," said Liu.

    "I will continue to work hard with my coach to show the world that I am the Chinese athlete to beat," he said. Enditem