CATERING for the 10,000 athletes from 165 countries descending on London for this summer’s Olympic Games is a daunting prospect.

While a team of chefs will feed and water the competitors, Wivenhoe chaplain Thomas Yap will cater for their spiritual side.

Mr Yap, 36, has been selected as one of the Anglican chaplains who will be on hand in and around the Olympic village in July and August.

He will be part of a multi-faith team who will give services to their following.

Mr Yap may also be called to calm the nerves and mental anguish of an athlete on the eve of the biggest moment of their career Modest Mr Yap, chosen partly because he also works as a psychotherapist, said he didn’t think his support could make the difference between a competitor taking gold or finishing further down the field.

He added: “I would hope we would be part of a contribution to someone’s wellbeing, but we’re not there just to help people to win.

“That’s not the primary reason why we are there, but it would be nice if there are people who find that we’ve helped them.

“Winning is never going to be down to just one thing.”

With members of Colchester’s churches keen to offer any support they can to make the London Games run smoothly, Mr Yap decided to put his name forward as a potential chaplain.

As Anglican chaplain at Essex University for the past five years, he said working on a campus where students hail from 132 different countries would be good preparation for the Games.

He said: “There’s a sense of belonging to an international community at the university, so hopefully we can recreate that at the Olympics.

“I’m absolutely looking forward to it. I’ve never done something like this before and I’m looking forward to meeting people from all over the world.”