"I nearly had to leave the stadium," says the Leeds Metropolitan University- based physiotherapist.

She had worked with Kelly for years, seeing the determined athlete fail
to meet her potential through injury.

It was Ali who helped her back to fitness and felt every footstep as she ran to Olympic glory.

"Everyone worked as a team to make sure she didn't get injured. It was amazing to watch such an athlete get better and better from race to race and then get two gold medals."

Four years on and Ali is once again accompanying another team of hopeful athletes to the Olympics as one of five official physios for UK Athletics.

But it is not just potential injury that is on her mind this time.

"The pollution is a key factor," explains Ali.

"The pollution can affect an athlete's breathing and if someone is having problems breathing that can tighten their back and ribcage and that can affect their running."

She said the entire team was taking anti-oxidants in a bid to minimise the effects of the pollution and one of the reasons for going to Macao two weeks before the Games was to try to acclimatise to the pollution and crippling humidity. A recent test conducted by the BBC revealed that pollution levels in Beijing are far above those recommended by the World Health Organisation. Athletes and travellers to Beijing are recommended to wear a protective mask.

During the week of testing, Beijing was only under the WHO limit of 50 micrograms per cubic metre on one day.

On another day pollution levels reached an astonishing, seven times the limit.

Even now with just over a week to go, the latest reading by the BBC puts the level of pollution at 134m micrograms.

The Chinese government has been working round the clock to clear the terrible pollution which grips Beijing, including the reallocation of more than 100 factories outside Beijing and the banning of private cars on alternate days.

But Ali says as the pollution starts to clear, another problem could affect the athletes.

"The sun is now starting to shine in Beijing which is making temperatures soar. For the sprinters it's good to be running in heat as the muscles warm up quickly. But for the endurance runners there's a much bigger knock-on effect.

"Because of the heat, we will get the athletes to do less warm-up time – probably just 20 minutes as we don't want them to be out there longer than they need to."

And Ali Rose knows what she is talking about.

A British international marathon runner, she has a deep insight into the world of sport at an elite level.

It was her love of marathon running and her interest in the biomechanics which go into athletics that convinced her to train as a physiotherapist at Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh more than 14 years ago.

While working in Australia she got the chance to join the UK Athletics Olympic physio team when another member had to drop out and as a result worked at the Olympics in 2000 and 2004.

She has also been to the Euro-pean Athletic Championships in 2002, 2006 and the World Championships in 2001, 2003, 2005.

As well as helping international athletes, Ali has worked with international divers, tennis and squash players, and triathletes, among a number of other sports.

At the moment, a lot of her time is spent with the 4X100 metre women's
relay squad who she believes have a very good chance of getting a medal in Beijing.

"They have all been working really hard and if they can raise their game on the day, they are in with a really good chance."

Although Ali will not be competing herself, she says it is still a nerve-racking experience.

"If we do get chance to watch the athletes perform, it is very emotional. To see people who have worked so hard get to the top is amazing."

But for Ali and the other physios the job will be to ensure that all the athletes keep fit in very challenging conditions and if they are injured, try to get them back on track as soon as possible.