The pressure on Liu Xiang, China's great Olympic hope, mounted in his absence last night as Dayron Robles set a world record in the 110 metres hurdles at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. Liu already had the weight of the world's most populous nation on his shoulders as he prepares to defend his title in Beijing, but the Cuban's time of 12.87sec snatched his record and suggested he may do the same to his crown in August.

For Robles, who endured an agonising wait as his time was initially recorded as 12.88sec, tying Liu's mark, his run was a form of payback. He felt Liu had a false start at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia in March, but as he waited in vain for the recall, the Chinese superstar ran towards another gold medal while Robles was eliminated from the heats.

“It is such a good time and I did not expect that,” Robles said at the meeting in the Czech Republic. “I do not know if I can beat Liu Xiang in Beijing now, but we'll see.”

Robles's mark was not the only world record of the night, with Dire Tune, the Ethiopian winner of the Boston Marathon, setting a women's one-hour mark of 18.517km, beating the previous record of 18.340km set in 1998 by Tegla Loroupe, of Kenya.

It would have been asking a lot for Usain Bolt, Jamaica's newest star, to add the 200metres world record to the 100metres one that he set in New York 11 days earlier, but he did register 19.83sec, the fastest time in the world this year and a meeting record.

Bolt has yet to confirm his plans for the Olympics, but maintains that he will happily ignore the shorter sprint if his coach tells him to. “I would prefer the 200,” he said.

Christine Ohuruogu, from Forest Gate, East London, was a winner in her first 400metres of the year, but the world champion sounded a note of caution as expectation rises on her after injuries to Paula Radcliffe and Jessica Ennis. “It will be necessary to run sub-49 seconds to get gold and it's going to be hard to defend my position of world No 1,” she said.

If Ohuruogu is right, then she will have to smash Kathy Cook's 24-year-old British record of 49.43sec to win the Olympic title. Eleven women this season have run faster than her time of 51.06sec last night.

Martyn Rooney won the men's 400 metres, but failed to dip beneath 45sec after suffering from a cold. “My aim is to be the No 1 in Europe and to reach the Olympic final,” Rooney said.

Goldie Sayers was only fourth in the javelin with a best of 63.66 metres and Jemma Simpson managed the same position in the 800 etres, although she recorded a season's best and got the better of Marilyn Okoro, the British No 1 in 2007.

Meanwhile, Kelly Sotherton confirmed that she will compete in the high hump, long jump, shot and javelin at the Aviva National Championships next month. The heptathlete, who has been included in the 4 x 400metres relay team for the European Cup in Annecy, France next week, said: “I am returning from [kidney] illness so am keen to do these four events and get my body used to competing again.”