Goalball athletes Michael and Anna Sharkey have helped mark the Olympic countdown, two years to the day, with the launch of the second of Royal Mail's London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games stamps.
Michael and Anna Sharkey together with the Paralympic Goalball stamp - one of ten new first class stamps issued by Royal Mail exactly two years before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
The stamps are being issued to mark today's (Tuesday July 27) key milestone.
Partially sighted Michael, 25, and his sister Anna, 22, who train in Bedford, are expected to compete in the Paralympic Games, staged in London in August and September 2010.
The latest stamp issue, subtitled 'On Track for 2012', goes on sale on today and features a fresh set of ten dynamic images championing Olympic and Paralympic sports.
In total Royal Mail will issue 30 first class stamps in the run-up to the 30th Olympiad and London 2012 Paralympic Games, as part of its role as an official licensee of the Games.
The stamps feature established Olympic and Paralympic sports like hockey, goalball and football, and more recent additions including taekwondo and BMX cycling.
Michael, who is captain of the Men's Goalball team is "delighted" his sport is featured on a stamp, especially as not many people have heard of the sport which is played by people with a variety of vision impaired people.
To ensure the sport is fair to all competitors, despite varying degrees of sight, all competitors wear special shades to stop any vision. The game is played with a basketball-sized ball with a bell inside to allow players to gauge where the ball is.
The game is played by teams of three men or women - a centre and two wingers (plus three replacements) on a court the size of a volleyball court with goals the size of five-a-side football goals spanning the width of the pitch.
The ball is rolled along the ground. The sport has recorded speeds of 84 mph.
Michael and who have both graduated from Birmingham University with physiotherapy degrees, currently live with their parents in Beaconsfield, but regularly train in Bedford.
Michael learnt the sport while at the Royal National Institute for the Blind's school - New College, Worcester. Anna, also learnt to play goalball at her brother's school, although she attended other schools in Berkshire.
All stamps in the series feature either the London 2012 Olympic Games or Paralympic Games logo, and the third and final set of stamps will be issued in 2011.
The Royal Mail stamp Commemorative Sheet features all ten Olympic and Paralympic Games stamps alongside labels containing information about each sport. There is also a special feature about Michael and Anna Sharkey.
Melanie Corfield, Royal Mail's Head of External relations for London & the South East said: "This series of stamps is creating a fascinating montage of the sports which make the Olympics and Paralympics one of the greatest events on the planet.
"In addition to appearing on millions of letters, the stamps also form part of a wonderful sporting collection to celebrate the 30th Olympiad."
Michael and Anna Sharkey together with the Paralympic Goalball stamp - one of ten new first class stamps issued by Royal Mail exactly two years before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.