A senior physiotherapist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals has been nominated by her colleagues to be an Olympic torch bearer at the London 2012 games after impressing them with her fundraising feats.

Jodie Marsden’s high-flying efforts at charity fundraising have seen her raise thousands of pounds for numerous organisations and won her the admiration of her fellow workmates.

“I was absolutely stunned to hear that I’d been nominated to be an Olympic torch bearer,” said Jodie, 32. “I’ve been told I’ve got through the first round and now I have to wait until December to hear if I’ve been successful.

“To carry the Olympic torch and represent Bradford and the Foundation Trust would be a great honour so I’m keeping everything crossed as it would be a great experience.”

Jodie, from Bradford, started raising money for charity in 2008 after a work colleague passed away and she raised money for the hospice her friend died in. Since then, she’s fundraised for various charities by running the Dublin Marathon, taking part in a York to Amsterdam cycle and an England coast-to-coast bike ride, organised raffles, hosted cake stalls and participated in sponsored space hops.

”I love being kept busy and get immense satisfaction from fundraising so it is good to be able to merge the two at the same time,” she explained.

Last Easter she organised a 125-miles bike ride for 30 riders around the Yorkshire Dales in aid of a local-based national charity, Charity Adventure, (www.charityadventure.org.uk) which organises fundraising bike rides where people can participate in marathon cycles by raising money for charity.

Her latest fundraising feat this month, where she jumped out of a plane at 15 thousand feet, came after hospital colleagues in the physio department bought her a sky dive as a wedding present.

Jodie, who tied the knot with postman Craig Swaine on May 28, raised £200 for the debilitating condition known as Rett Syndrome, during her parachute jump at Hibaldstow airfield, in Lincoln, on September 2.

Jodie explained: “One of the riders at the Easter sponsored cycle was raising money for his daughter who has Rett Syndrome, so I thought that if I was going to do the skydive I might as well raise money for charity at the same time.

“Rett Syndrome is a debilitating disorder which often strikes healthy little girls around the time they learn to walk and say a few words. As the condition worsens, girls lose movement and speech, which ultimately leaves them in a wheelchair, unable to communicate, use her hands, while extreme anxiety, disordered breathing, Parkinson-like tremors, orthopaedic problems and seizures are common.

“There is currently no cure but hopefully by helping raise money for the Rett Syndrome Research Trust UK, we will get close to reversing this debilitating disease”.

Successful torchbearer nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer in December 2011, with places confirmed in February 2012. The Olympic Flame will arrive from Greece on May 18, 2012, and the Torch Relay will begin at Land’s End on May 19, 2012. It will travel over 8,000 miles in 70 days. The final torchbearer will carry the Flame into the Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony on July 27, 2012. The cauldron will be lit, and the London Games will be officially open.

You can sponsor Jodie by clicking on to the website: www.justgiving.com/jodie-marsden site or via www.reverserett.org.uk