A TALENTED young athlete felt inspired to aim for the stars after meeting a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games.

Max Hazlehurst, from Askam, was among the thousands of spectators who watched Australian runner Oliver Hoare earn the gold in the 1,500m race.

The 15-year-old is a keen runner himself, winning the coveted first prize in the annual Keswick to Barrow run in May - despite needing medical treatment during the course.

Max was the first under-17 runner to cross the finish line with a time of six hours and one minute despite spending 25 minutes in an ambulance in Coniston due to a toe injury.

Max, who attends Ulverston Victoria High School, was running for CancerCare in Team Kemp in memory of his teacher and grandad who both died of cancer.

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Max was keen to watch the 1,500m race in Birmingham which resulted in an epic fight for the top-spot on Saturday.

After producing a Commonwealth Games record time, gold medallist Oliver Hoare greeted the array of fans who watched the Aussie come in first place.

Among those was Max who managed to land a photo with the running champion.

He said: “We watched the race that he did and he came and took photos with everyone after and said hi.

“I’m a runner myself and to run competitively at the Commonwealth Games one day like him would be great.

“It was really nice to meet him. It was really good at the commonwealth – the stadium was really full.

“Everyone was cheering Oliver on – he did amazing. I wanted to see the 1500m race because that’s the distance I run too.

“I was looking forward to seeing it. That’s the distance I like to run – I prefer running long distance over sprints.

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“Going to the Commonwealth has definitely given me something to aim for, especially meeting Oliver.”

The 25-year-old is now the toast of the athletics world after becoming just the second Australian after Herb Elliott to win the race on Saturday.

Hoare paid tribute to his grandfather and dedicated his gold medal to him.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Hoare, who only two weeks ago failed to earn a place in the final at the world championships.