Sponsors pledge commitment to Liu, through the pain and glory

More of Liu Xiang's sponsors expressed their support yesterday, the day after the athlete pulled out of the Olympic 110 metres hurdles, and pledged to continue co-operating with him.

Nike, whose shoes Liu wears, ran full-page advertisements in several mainland newspapers yesterday. One was published on the front page of Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post and the back page of China Daily and other publications, show his face, partly in shadow.

An accompanying slogan ends with the line: 'Love Sport Even When It Breaks Your Heart.'

'It was specifically tailored to events,' Nike spokesman Derek Kent said. 'This ad is really sending the message that we support Liu Xiang. We look forward to working with him in the days and months and years ahead.'

Nike finalised the advert at 11pm on Monday and 'worked through the night' to place it in yesterday's newspapers, state media said.

One public relations industry executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: 'From Nike's point of view, it's a good thing to do. The prevailing mood seems to be one of sympathy.

'As a company that's spent a lot of money to associate themselves closely with Liu Xiang, they want to make sure they're seen to be part of that and to express their own sympathy.'