Liu's time of 13.05 seconds was not his best (he shares the world record of 12.91) but under the circumstances it was a phenomenal performance.

Dominique Arnold, who has been enjoying one of his best seasons ever, false-started twice and was disqualified.

The American was visibly distraught, screaming at the officials for several minutes before storming off the track. If Liu was put of by this, he didn't show it.

But when Dutchman Marcel van der Westen jumped the gun next, tension was written all over the Chinese superstar's face.

Afterwards, though, he said he had managed to stay calm. 'I've been in false start situations before so I was able to keep my focus,' he said. 'I clipped an early hurdle so I fell behind, but that just makes this victory all the sweeter.

'I'm so glad I managed to keep my concentration all this week despite all the distractions. I would have been very disappointed if I had not won in my home town.'

Johnson got off to a great start and for Liu it was a game of catch-up. When Johnson clipped his ankle on the last hurdle, though, Liu seized his chance and passed his arch-rival with just metres to go.

'That was a fantastic race,' said Johnson. 'I ran really well for about 70 per cent of the race, but I twisted my ankle at the final hurdle.

'I'm not disappointed, though. I'm happy with my performance and I'm looking forward to taking on Liu again.'

While the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for Liu, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva also came in for plenty of support. The crowd willed her to break her world record of 5.01m but the Olympic champion could not deliver on the night, although she did win with a leap of 4.65m.

'I couldn't believe the crowd. You'd have thought they were Russian,' said Isinbayeva, whose movie star looks have won her a huge following. 'I didn't break my record tonight, but I'll do it next time.'

Earlier, the evening began with an upset when Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas beat world champion Lauryn Williams in the women's 100m sprint.

Brazil's Lucimar Noura jumped the gun forcing a restart, but Sturrup kept her nerves to win in 11.02.

'To be honest, I wasn't really nervous after the restart and that gave me an advantage,' said Sturrup, who has recorded the world's fastest time this year, 10.84 in Laussanne, Switzerland, in July. 'It was a great race even though we ran slower than I expected.'

Williams made a valiant effort to catch her rival but left her challenge too late, finishing in 11,05. American Melisa Barber finished a distant third, timing 11.22.

The men's 100m also began with a false start but ended as expected - American sprint king Justin Gatlin blowing his rivals away by leading from start to finish to win in 10.01.

'It was pretty easy, but I'm a bit tired,' said Gatlin, the world 100 and 200m champion. 'The track is really great. I was really focused tonight because I wanted to end the season on a high. I think I won a very good tactical race.'

Tactics were certainly important after Maurice Greene, the former world champion, made a false start and then lasted just 15m before pulling up with an injury and in the process distracted the other competitors. 'I felt something go and just had to pull up,' said Greene.

Gatlin's compatriot, Leonard Scott, was second in 10.09 with Portugal's Francis Obikwelu third in 10.11.

The men's 3,000m also went as expected when Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele held off a stiff challenge from his younger brother, Tariku, to win in 7:36.36.

'That was a really tough race. It was so hot. You can see the sweat pouring off me now,' said Kenenisa Bekele, the 10,000m world record holder who was voted IAAF athlete of the year, said.

Tariku Bekele, who used act as a pacemaker for his brother but is now a world-class athlete in his own right, clocked 7:36.63. The two Bekeles finished more than a second ahead of third-placed Kenyan Boniface Songok.