A PHYSIOTHERAPIST with the Great Britain cycling team has described the feeling of Olympic glory as "indescribably uplifting".

Gavin Thomas, of Brigsteer Road, Levens, returned from Athens this week after helping the team to win two gold medals, both in Olympic record time, two silvers and a bronze.

He said one of his highlights was watching Kelly Holmes win her second gold of the Games in the 1,500 metres: "The feeling in Team GB went up to a different plane. People's heads were held higher."

That same night he saw Britain's 4x100m relay team squeeze out the United States of America for an unexpected gold medal.

However, little of Mr Thomas's time was spent watching the Games.

On his busiest day, he was up at 5.30am, worked on cyclists at the track all morning and afternoon, helped to massage and stretch them until 10.30pm, and then prepared for the next day until 1.30am.

Confidence was high after a good world championships, but Mr Thomas said: "People realised that competitors at the Olympic Games lift their game. Nobody was expecting to get gold medals but they knew their best was competitive."

The team got off to a good start after a high-pressure win by Chris Hoy with gold in the one kilometre time trial.

Manchester-based Mr Thomas said: "He sat and watched the Olympic record get broken three times before his ride."

Then he broke it again to take gold, averaging nearly 60kph despite weighing over 210kg.

Security at the Games was tight but reassuring, he said, with police escorting the teams everywhere, x-ray machines at all entrances and every item of kit searched.

The much-publicised concerns about unfinished facilities were partly true, he said, but despite the unfinished flowerbeds around the athletes' village, the team did not lack anything.

The scandal of two Greek athletes missing a drug test on the eve of the opening ceremony was a topic of conversation and he added that Team GB was enthusiastic about drug testing.

After all the excitement, Mr Thomas said it was nice be back in South Lakeland, "back to a bit more sanity".