OLYMPIC marathon runner Liz Yelling was guest of honour after officially opening the new multi-millionpound Winchester Sports Stadium.

Hundreds of sport lovers packed the facility at Bar End during the special ceremony on Saturday to see the British athlete cut the ribbon on the running track.

More than 500 athletes at the Winchester and District Athletic Club use the stadium which boasts an Olympic standard eight-lane athletics track and facilities for high jump, pole vault, discus, hammer and javelin.

To celebrate, the University of Winchester and the city council held a sports festival which saw hundreds of local residents take part in volleyball, football, climbing and martial arts.

Civic chiefs are now hoping that the £3.5m stadium will be used by a national athletics squad as a training base ahead of the 2012 London Olympics Liz, Olympic Team GB marathon runner, said: “It’s fantastic, a real high class running track that you have here in Winchester. Hopefully it will help to inspire and motivate a younger generation to take up the sport that I love.

“With this new facility you will no doubt attract and encourage all athletes. And with the pending 2012 Olympics you have the facility to support the legacy that the international role models of our sport will leave behind them.”

The Winchester club has been campaigning for a purpose-built track since leaving the track at Abbotts Barton in the late1980s.

Michaela McCallum, the club’s development officer, said: “It’s a dream come true for the athletics club. We didn’t have a base and it’s just fantastic to have a wonderful eight-lane facility here of Olympic standard.

Our junior section is growing by the day, so much so that we actually have a waiting list in place.”

The stadium also has an all-weather hockey and general sports pitch, floodlighting and a pavilion. It opened in July 2008.