Two people from Oxfordshire are limbering up to pay their own part in the Olympics this summer.

Steve Bowerman, from Witney, and Stephanie Smith from Launton, near Bicester, will both be helping to keep the athletes in peak physical condition.

Miss Smith, 34, will be a volunteer physiotherapist for the gymnastics, trampolining and basketball competitions.

Meanwhile, dad-of-two Mr Bowerman, 49, will be an official member of the Olympics’ medical team, providing sports massage at the rowing and canoeing events.

He said: “It’s so exciting, I was like a kid at Christmas when I found out. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Mr Bowerman, who runs Witney massage and chiropody firm Body Zones, applied for the position back in September 2010 but only found out he had been successful last week.

He will be cheered on by wife Birtha and daughters Emma, 11, and Natasha, six.

He said: “I’ve told everyone. I’ll be in the Olympic Village and at the rowing lake at Dorney, so it’s a really exciting opportunity.

“I’ve done other events like the London Marathon twice, the Reading half-marathon and lots of local 10km runs and bike rides but nothing like this. I can’t wait to get started now.”

Miss Smith has worked with the British gymnastics team for many years, but said she was over-the-moon about getting the chance to help the team in London.

She said: “I’m really excited. This is something I’ve been looking forward to my whole career.

“I’ve been doing physio with the gymnastics team for 12 years now, so I’ve been all over the world with them, but London will really be the pinnacle of that.”

Miss Smith, who runs Pea Green Physio in Bicester, said her family, friends and patients were all equally excited about her Games role.

She added: “My mum has been Facebooking about it a lot. I think everyone is really excited about the Olympics, so it’s nice to be a part of that.”

Both Mr Bowerman and Miss Smith have also volunteered to help competitors at the Paralympic Games.

rpope@oxfordmail.co.uk Will you be helping at the Olympics? Call our newsdesk on 01865 425500 or email us at news@oxfordmail.co.uk.