Elizabeth Soames, 32, is a former pupil of Sponne School in Towcester and has been a specialist in sport injuries and massage for the last 13 years.

Today, Sunday, she will fly to a holding camp in Macau with the GB Paralympic swimming team before heading to Beijing for the start of the Paralympics Games next month.

Miss Soames said she was particularly proud to be serving the swimming team as they are current world champions.

She said: "This is a tremendous achievement and opportunity, not only because I've wanted to go to an Olympic Games since I was eight years old, but also our disabled swim team is one of our most successful paralympic teams.

"It's just the ethos and romance of the games. You have the best athletes in the world competing and giving their all and it only happens once every four years. It is a real privilege."

Every Tuesday, Miss Soames works at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London where Olympic gold-medallist Christine Ohuruogu often trains and recalls how everyone at the track stopped what they were doing to watch her win her gold medal during the 400m this week.

Miss Soames said: "I just hope the success of the able-bodied team will rub off on the disabled team. Either way it will raise awareness of the team especially since this is the biggest Paralympics team to date and how this year's games is set to get more television coverage than ever before."

Unfortunately her mother Rita died five years ago but her father Richard, who lives in Paulerspury, and boyfriend Gareth will be cheering her on from home.

She added: "My father is over the moon, he's been so supportive and even sewed all the labels and badges on to my uniform."

As a soft tissue therapist Miss Soames will be among a team of staff including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and biochemists supporting 36 disabled athletes in the swim team who will be competing in Beijing's iconic Water Cube from Saturday, September 6.