A MEMORIAL track-and-field event will be staged next month to honour a brave teenager whose battle against cancer continues to inspire his fellow athletes.

Darlington Harriers will stage the second Kieran Maxwell Track and Field Open at Middlesbrough Sports Village on Sunday, April 7.

The event, which was inaugurated last year, is held in memory of Kieran Maxwell, from Heighington, who died in June 2017 at the age of 18 after a seven-year fight against the rare illness, Ewing’s Sarcoma.

A promising sprinter, and a member of the Harriers, Kieran was being considered for the Great Britain Paralympic triathlon team thanks to his performances on the track.

Kieran was determined to make the most of his talent despite losing a leg, and memorably carried the Olympic torch as part of the London 2012 Torch Relay.

However, his cancer spread to his heart and lung before he could fulfil his dream of representing his country on the Paralympic stage.

Next month’s Kieran Maxwell Track and Field Open will feature events for juniors and seniors as well as wheelchair and Paralympic competitors.

Darlington Harriers men’s track captain, Mark Tallon, said: “Kieran was a very special young man, whose courage in the face of adversity was truly inspirational.

“When we staged the inaugural meeting last year, we had more than 200 entrants and this wonderful day of athletics is his legacy.”

Kieran represented Harriers to great success in local and national competitions, and also won a gold medal at the Brazil Paralympic School Games in 2015.

The proceeds from next month’s event will go to the Kieran Maxwell Legacy Fund at the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group.

Entries for the Kieran Maxwell Memorial Open Track and Field Meeting are available online at www.kieranmaxwellopen.co.uk. The closing date for entries in March 29, and a entry for a single event costs £7.