By James Crook

151367821May 1 - London 2012 Paralympics gold medallists David Weir and Richard Whitehead will compete at the inaugural Bupa Westminster Mile in London on May 26, with double-Olympic gold medal-winning event ambassador Mo Farah set to fire the starting gun.

Quadruple Paralympic wheelchair champion Weir and 200 metres T42 champion Whitehead will be joined by the likes of Olympic and World Championship finalist Andrew Baddaley, 2012 Olympians Ross Murray and Nick McCormick, plus James Brewer, a European under-23 silver medallist in 2009.

Beijing 2008 Olympian and European 800m finalist Jemma Simpson, World Championship 1500m medallists Hannah England and Lisa Dobriskey, and former world junior 1500m champion Steph Twell will take part in the women's Mile.

The Mile will begin at the same start line Olympians and Paralympians used for the Marathon and Road Cycling events in 2012 on the Mall, taking competitors past Horse Guards Parade and Downing Street in the shadow of the Houses of Parliament on the way to the finish line outside Buckingham Palace.

150259362Competitors at the Westminster Mile will have the opportunity to run the iconic Mall, where Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich took Olympic Gold in the Marathon last year

The Westminster Council Olympic and Paralympic Legacy event will go on to be an annual fixture on London's sporting calendar, and will be the official UK Road Mile Age Group Championship, with cash prizes and adidas sponsorship contracts up for grabs.

London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher said: "Britain has an amazing heritage in the Mile, with Sir Roger Bannister being the first person to run under four minutes and more latterly the 1980s world record holders Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram.

"We believe that this exciting new event can carry on the great work that London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games did to inspire a generation by providing the competition and an iconic venue to deliver on that commitment."

Click here to see the schedule of races.

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