The father of murdered teenage footballer Kiyan Prince has hailed a “superhero” friend running the London Marathon for the 20th anniversary of his son’s death.
Dr Mark Prince OBE dedicated his life to steering young people away from knife crime since Kiyan, 15, was fatal stabbed trying to break up a fight outside his Edgware school in May 2006.
PR director James Rollinson will be battling through a protruding disc in his spine to complete the 26.2-mile race in under three hours and 10 minutes on Sunday, April 26.
He aims to raise £3,000 for The Kiyan Prince Foundation, set up in honour of the Queens Park Rangers youth team player.
Dr Prince told the Standard: “James is a superhero and I’m an absolute fan of what he’s aiming to achieve.
“The pain of losing Kiyan continues. It’s going nowhere, and it doesn’t feel anything like 20 years ago.
“Yesterday, I was looking at pictures of him and the emotions flood through you. I’m still in shock. He would have been 35.
“I couldn’t image that I would be here, two decades later, talking about knife crime.”
Sympathising with the parents of student Finbar Sullivan, 21, and schoolboy Eghosa Ogbebor, 14 - recent young victims of the capital’s violent crime epidemic - he added: “I was a broken man at my worst not knowing if I could get from one day to the next.”
Mr Rollinson, who was in the same academic year as Kiyan, said: “The 20th anniversary of Kiyan’s death is a poignant moment in the foundation’s history.
“I met Mark five years ago and absolutely love working with him. He is a great friend.
“There was a huge tragedy in what happened, but Mark’s strength comes from focusing on the wonderful things Kiyan did and would have done, using that as inspiration for other young people. Mark is a powerful force for good and continues to inspire me.
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“I count myself very lucky with the life I’ve been able to live so far, my family and the people I’ve met. I know Kiyan would have said the exact same thing at my age.
“It’s cliché but I don’t know if I will get the chance to run the marathon again for a cause that means so much to me.
“You’ve just got to do it – and like Kiyan make the most of every opportunity you’re given.”
Kiyan was killed by Hannad Hasan – 17 at the time – and later jailed for a minimum of 13 years for murder. The Home Office deported him back to Somalia on his release in 2024.
Five years ago, the Fifa 21 video game used AI technology to show Kiyan as a 30-year-old professional footballer, allowing gamers to play as him.
QPR listed him as a squad member on all matchday programmes, having already renamed their ground the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium in 2019 for three seasons.
Donate to help James Rollinson and The Kiyan Prince Foundation reach more young people by visiting: https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/james-rollinson
