Zoe Smith

Zoe Smith is a super strong athlete from England who loves to lift very heavy weights! Imagine lifting a big, heavy backpack full of books – Zoe lifts much, much more! She competes in a sport called weightlifting, where athletes try to lift the heaviest weights possible over their heads. She's won amazing medals for her country, showing everyone how strong she is!

When Zoe was 12 years old, she was practicing gymnastics, which is also a very strong sport. Someone saw how strong she was and asked her to try lifting weights. She loved it!

Soon, she was competing in big games like the Commonwealth Games, where she won a bronze medal. That's like getting a third-place ribbon at a big competition! She even went to the Olympics, which is the biggest sports event in the world!

Weightlifting has two main parts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. In the snatch, Zoe lifts the weight from the floor to overhead in one smooth movement. In the clean and jerk, she first lifts the weight to her shoulders (the clean) and then lifts it all the way up overhead (the jerk). It takes lots of practice and strength to do this! Zoe has lifted weights heavier than a small pony!

Zoe has won some really cool medals. She won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, which was a first for English women in weightlifting! She also won a gold medal at the European Championships for her clean and jerk lift. Winning medals means she did a fantastic job and made her country proud. She shows that with hard work, you can achieve amazing things!