by Gwynn Guilford

Corporate sponsors are scrambling to find an inspiring angle to the Olympic flameout of Chinese hurdler and gold-medal hopeful Liu Xiang, who injured his Achilles Heel on the first hurdle in the first heat of the 110-meter event:

All of the brands that had invested heavily in him as their sponsor—BMW, Mini, Nike and more—rushed to switch messaging gears. "As the father of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin said, the Olympics most important thing is not to win, but to participate; not to have conquered, but to have fought. Liu Xiang achieved it!" That was the message on Tsingtao Beer's Weibo just a few hours after Liu's injury. The star hurdler is the anchor athlete of Tsingtao's London 2012 campaign. Mini Cooper China's message "Completing my journey, Regardless of position or results" — came with a questionable, if humorous, choice of images: a Mini roadster plowing carelessly through hurdles....

Nike has it the worst; in addition to Liu Xiang, it sponsors the Chinese men's basketball team:

Nike's Liu mess came just hours after the brand was forced to address the fact that China's Nike-sponsored basketball team had lost every game it played. Less than four hours before posting its "Who dares start all over again…" Liu Xiang message, Nike posted a (again prescient) message about China's basketball team falling out of contention: "Do not let your expectations disappoint. Tomorrow, please continue to pick up the ball. China basketball will never be extinguished...."