Sir Roger Bannister, one of Britain’s most distinguished sports personalities and the first man to run the four minute mile, will officially open the new, eight-lane floodlit athletics track at Sutton Valence School near Maidstone on Tuesday launching a unique new training facility for local athletes.

In tribute to Sir Roger’s legendary run at Iffley Road, Oxford in May, 1954, a 4x400 metres team made up of young male and female athletes from the school and Medway & Maidstone Athletic Club will run a relay to see how close they can come to a Sir Roger’s 3 min 59.4 sec world record.

The track, which has cost almost £800,000, has been jointly funded by the school and Maidstone Borough Council to provide a world-class training facility for local runners.

Medway & Maidstone Athletic Club members will train there five evenings a week, meeting the school’s policy to widen access to its superb sports facilities – it is an official training centre for the 2012 London Olympic Games for athletics, badminton, basketball, fencing and archery.

Sutton Valence School headmaster Bruce Grindlay said: “We’re delighted that Sir Roger has agreed to open the new track and that it will benefit not only our own athletes, but also runners from across the region.”

Cllr Brian Moss, Maidstone Borough Council’s cabinet member for leisure and culture, added: “This superb facility contributes to the council’s priorities and meets a longstanding need for our community.

"It will be available for our aspiring and established athletes for years to come and could help us bring a medal home from the London Games in 2012.”

Among the guests scheduled to attend the opening are deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent Bill Cockroft, Shadow Sports and Olympics Minister and MP for Faversham and Mid Kent Hugh Robertson, pioneering surgeon Sir Terence English, a friend and colleague of Sir Roger’s, and the Mayor Maidstone Cllr Peter Parvin.

The event is also due to be attended by leading figures from the local athletics scene, including Frank Sando, who won a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1954 European Championships and, also that year, Silver and Bronze at the Empire Games, Vancouver.