Liu Xiang leads 110m hurdles world ranking

China's 110m hurdles¹ champion Liu Xiang is currently ranked first in the world ranking for his sport.

Olympic men's 110-meter hurdles champion and world record-holder Liu Xiang of China, right, participates a promotional event of the upcoming field and truck tournament Wednesday, May 9, 2007 in Shanghai, China. [AP]

The new list compiled by the International Association of Athletics² Federations³ (IAAF) ranks Liu Xiang at the top of his field with a total score of 1398.

He is followed by Daron Robles from Cuba and Allen Johnson from the USA.

Liu Xiang scored his first outdoor 110m hurdles title this year with a comfortable time of 13.14 seconds at the 2007 Osaka World Athletics Tour on May 5.

Another Chinese hurdler called Shi Dongpeng rose to 19th place in the world ranking with a score of 1242, displacing Ladji Doucoure from France.

Liu Xiang became a huge sporting celebrity⁴ in China after winning gold at the Athens Olympics in 2004. His fame only increased last summer after he set a new world record of 12.88 seconds in the 110m hurdles, smashing his previous personal best of 12.91 seconds, which he shared with top British hurdler Colin Jackson.