Draft Wheelchairs, who are based in Godmanchester, currently export five per cent of the custom-built chairs they make but hope to increase that on the back of the firm's recent success.

A total of 23 medallists at the 2004 and 2008 Paralympics used their chairs, including Londoner David Weir, who won two gold medals at the Beijing Games.

Woods also praised her chair after she raced to silver and bronze in the 1500 and 5,000 metres in Beijing.

Draft Wheelchairs, whose annual turn-over is £500,000, was founded in 1997 by wheelchair racer and basketball player Barry Norman in partnership with engineer and cyclist Dan Chambers.

The majority of its customers just want wheelchairs to use on a daily basis but it has really established its reputation for manufacturing high-performance chairs.

Norman said: "People are astonished that there should be top-class international stuff made in a little place like Godmanchester.

"We started out when I was selling other people's products, and I thought I should be getting a share of the profits.

"A mutual acquaintance put me in touch with Dan and it went from there.

"It was like a marriage made in heaven."

In the firm's early days it ran a factory race team to show off, prove and them improve its products.

The firm sees London 2012 as crucial to helping increase its share of the market.

Norman said: "Once somebody sees our product, they want it.

"The trick is to get them to see it.

"Then, to be able to go to the factory and talk to the guy who builds your chair is fantastic."

Chambers said: "We know there's a big market out there for us.

"We started as two men in a shed.

"Now, if we have too many orders, we can't cope with them.

"We need to expand capacity before we sell it."