Chinese Hurdler Liu Xiang Announces Divorce

NEWS FROM SOUTH CHINA MORING POST

China’s retired star hurdler Liu Xiang announced his divorce with actress Ge Tian on his microblog on Wednesday – less than 10 months after they got married.

“Ge Tian and I fell in love in May 2014 and got married in September the same year. We ended this marriage today because of our incompatible personalities. We each hope the other has a better life in the future and give best wishes to each other,” Liu wrote on his personal account on Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter.

The end of their short-lived marriage came after speculations in May that their marriage was in trouble and the pair were splitting up.

Liu, who won the 2004 Olympics gold medal in men’s 110m hurdles and equalled the world record, announced he was leaving professional athletics in April and held a retirement ceremony in a Shanghai stadium on May 17. His wife was not present at the event, neither did Liu mention her in his speech, giving rise to rumours that their relationship had turned sour.

News of their marriage became public when a picture of Liu and Ge leaving Shanghai’s marriage registry was posted on Weibo last September.

Liu’s gold in 2004 was China’s first in men’s track and field events at the Olympics

The hurdler, from Shanghai, has since emerged as the  mainland’s “darling”.

Ge’s Weibo account says she graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2012 and has performed in a few television dramas since then.

 

LIU’s Divorce Announcement

我与葛天2014年5月恋爱,同年9月结婚,婚后因性格不合,于今天结束这段婚姻,希望今后各自都有更美好的人生,祝愿彼此。

wǒ yǔ gě tiān 2014nián 5yuè liàn ài ,tóng nián 9yuè jié hūn ,hūn hòu yīn xìng gé bú hé ,yú jīn tiān jié shù zhè duàn hūn yīn ,xī wàng jīn hòu gè zì dōu yǒu gèng měi hǎo de rén shēng ,zhù yuàn bǐ cǐ 。

Ge Tian and I fell in love in May 2014 and got married in September the same year. We ended this marriage today because of our incompatible personalities. We each hope the other has a better life in the future and give best wishes to each other.

 

KEY WORDS:

 

离婚          lí hūn                              divorce

恋爱          liàn ài                             fall in love

结婚          jié hūn                           get married

婚姻          hūn yīn                          marriage

性格不合  xìng gé bú hé                 incompatible personalities

人生          rén shēng                       life

祝愿彼此  zhù yuàn bǐ cǐ                 we bless each other

 

Editor:WY