2004 Athens Games gold medalist Liu Xiang ended his journey at the London Olympics in an unexpected way. His recurring foot injury flared at the first hurdle during heats on Tuesday, four years after the Chinese star hurdler pulled out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on the day of the hurdling competition.

Liu's London failure constitutes another nightmare in the former world-record holder's sporting career and it will also deal a heavy blow to the hurdler's commercial value.

Liu has been a favorite for commercial sponsors since his sensational win at the 2004 Olympic Games. Figures from Forbes China Celebrity 100 lists show that Liu's earnings skyrocketed from 1.6 million yuan in 2004 to 163.2 million yuan in 2008. The withdrawal at the Beijing Games caused his earnings to shrink to a measly 18.25 million yuan on Forbes' 2011 list.

Check out Liu Xiang's top 10 commercial endorsements (in no particular order):

  Amway Nutrilite

Liu Xiang (right) in Amway Nutrilite commercial