WHEN the nation's star athletes compete for Olympic glory in Sydney next year they may have a Lytham man to thank.

Luke Smith might not be a household name but he will play a vital role behind the scenes at the games, nursing pulled muscles and aching limbs.

He will join Britain's Olympic team as a squad physiotherapist at their training camp in Brisbane.

Luke, who works for the Therapy Centre on Westby Street, Lytham says: "I am really looking forward to going out there and working with the top sports people.

"Our job is to get the competitors into ideal shape for their events.

"We will of course have to treat injuries but we try to do prevention work to stop them happening in the first place.

"As a squad physio I will need to be a 'Jack of all trades' and be ready to treat anyone from sprinters to hockey players."

Luke will shortly be flying out to Australia to examine the facilities available for the team.

Not that travelling abroad is something new for Luke, as he was at the previous Olympic games in Atlanta.

And he has been travelling around the world for five years as physio to Britain's top table tennis players.

He recently returned from the World Table Tennis Championships in the Netherlands.

They were due to be held in Belgrade in April but had to be relocated because the Kosovo conflict began the moment it was due to start.

This meant a hasty rearrangement in plans for Luke but is just part and parcel of a job he loves.

He said: "I feel very privileged to represent my country doing a job I enjoy but it's always nice to come home."

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