Recent Boston Marathon winner Dire Tune is set to make an attempt on the 60-minute distance world record at the 47th IAAF Golden Spike meet in Ostrava on June 12.

After last year's successful venture with Haile Gebrselassie the organisers of the Grand Prix have decided to arrange a similar event for women.

Tune, of Ethiopia, will try to run more in 60 minutes than the 18,340 metres achieved by Tegla Loroupe back in 1998 in Borgholzhausen, Germany.

"I am very excited for this opportunity to come to Ostrava and attempt to run the one hour world record," said Tune from the Ethopian pre-Olympics marathon camp.

"I have started training again after winning the Boston Marathon and I feel good to go after the record. I am excited to run on the same track where Haile broke the record," she added.

Also competing will be Romanian world and Olympic participant Alina Gherasim who is aiming to break the European record (18,084 metres by Italian Silvana Cruciata in 1981).

Other top names announced for the event included 5000m world indoor champion Tariku Bekele, who previously won in Ostrava at 3,000 metres in 2006.

"I want to try to run my best, it is a key race for my preparation for the Olympic games," Bekele said. His best so far is 12:53.81, with the meet record the 12:48.81 recorded by Stephen Cherono (later to become Saif Saeed Shaheen) in his famous duel with Hicham El Guerrouj in 2003.

Cuba's Dayron Robles and world championship silver medallist Terrence Trammell of the USA will compete in the 110 metres hurdles. Trammell won the event in Ostrava in 2006.

In the women's javelin event, world champion and home favourite Barbora Spotakova will face main German rivals European champion Steffi Nerius and European record holder Christina Obergfoll.

Also competing are sprinting stars Derrick Atkins (100m) and Usain Bolt (200m) and world champions Jana Rawlinson (400m hurdles), Blanka Vlasic (high jump) and Christine Ohuruogu (400m), as well as world indoor champions Tyler Christopher (400m), Abubaker Kaki (800m) and Yevgeniy Lukyanenko (pole vault).

EME / Eurosport