A SWIMMING coach who volunteered for the Olympics is delighted to have had her efforts recognised by the Queen.

Dawn Bracken, 53, from Chelmsford, received a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honour List for her work as a trailblazer.

Between January 2009 and October 2012, Mrs Bracken gave 1,500 hours of her time working at the Olympics office in Canary Wharf.

She was also a Games Makers volunteering in the Aquatic Centre as a medal chaperone for both the Olympics and Paralympics, leading the swimming stars got to the podium to collect their medals.

Mrs Bracken said: “It was so lovely to feel part of something so exciting.

“Every time I wore the uniform on the train to Stratford people wanted to speak to me – they wanted to know which venue I was working in and what I was doing. Everybody was so positive.

“I was very sad on my last day because I had made so many friends and, even though we keep in touch, it can never be the same again.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do some work on the volunteering legacy since then, so my Olympic journey is not quite over yet.”