Liu Xiang (劉翔)

   Sport: hurdling

  2011 earning: US$3.17 million

2010 ranking: 4

Liu Xiang is unquestionable one of the most renowned and successful Chinese athletes in the world. Born in 1983, Liu won his first Olympic gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, making it the first and only gold in men's track and field for China.

Although his fans eagerly waited to see his encore in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Liu was forced to withdraw from game at the last moment because of lingering foot injury. After a 13-month absence, Liu returned to competition in 2009. In 2011, Liu won at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix and became the silver medalist in the IAAF World Championships in South Korea.