Weightlifting: Smith’s studies put on hold ahead of 2012

• Tweet
• Pin It

British weightlifter Zoe Smith has announced she’ll be putting her A-level studies on hold until after the London 2012 Olympic Games to concentrate purely on her sport.

The difficulties in juggling the training and competition demands, the requirements of her school and the large amount of media and commercial interest in her has taken its toll on the 16-year-old, who won a historic bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last October.

Speaking of the decision, Zoe said, “This was obviously such a hard decision for me to make. I have the same aspirations I have always had to attend University and follow through with my studies, but for now I feel I have to just put them on hold for a short while in the lead up to London 2012.

“After the Games I have the full intention to carry on with my studies but I feel that the combined pressures of both A-level exams and the performance targets of my sport will ultimately have a negative effect on my results in both.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Related stories:

Weightlifting: Zoe Smith’s Olympic funding reinstated

Sportsister catches up with Zoe Smith

Weightlifting: Smith has funding cut for being overweight

……………………………………………………………………………………………………


……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Following her success in Delhi, Smith made it to the top three finalists in the Young Sports Personality of the Year award whilst also receiving recognition from the media, picking up the Sports Journalists Association award for Best International Newcomer.

Her career has not all been plain sailing though, with her personal Olympic funding being cut in December following concerns for her commitment to a structured training programme and the failure to stabilise her bodyweight.

However, she subsequently had it reinstated by British Weight Lifting, after the body’s Performance Management Group noted “a number of positive changes” made by the young athlete in recent months, notably her powerful performance at the Tri-Nations tournament in Norway earlier in the month where she achieved six out of six lifts to finish second.

“I hope to be competing at the Olympics for years to come,” she said. “However, the chance to compete in front of my home crowd is a once in a lifetime opportunity so I want to be able to get myself into the best shape possible. I now have an amazing chance to work with my coaches full-time and focus completely on my personal development in the sport.

“I’m also very aware that as a publicly funded athlete, through the National Lottery, I have a responsibility to do that justice and pay back the commitment people have shown to me. Due to the nature of my sport, I just didn’t feel I was able to do that whilst also attempting to keep up with the commitments to school.”

With the support of British Weightlifting, Smith now hopes to train with the rest of the GB team based at the High Performance Centre in Leeds, allowing her access to the best training facilities the sport has to offer.

Speaking of the decision, Fiona Lothian, Performance Manager for British Weightlifting, said: “BWL are fully supportive of Zoe’s decision to take a break from her studies and focus on full time training in the lead up to London 2012.

“We are looking forward to her being able to spend more time at the BWL High Performance Centre in Leeds.”

The young athlete admitted she had found it tough to make such a decision, but that she was reassured after speaking to athletes who have also had to make the same choice.

She explained: “There are plenty of examples of athletes leaving their studies to commit to their sport and the conversations I’ve had left me comfortable in the knowledge that I could now commit to my training full-time and return to my studies after the 2012 Games.”

Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

• Tweet
• Pin It

You may like

• 

  Video: Smith claims British record
  Video: Smith claims British record
• 

  Video: Weightlifter Perdue ready for opportunity of a lifetime
  Video: Weightlifter Perdue ready for opportunity of a lifetime
• 

  Weightlifting: Smith sets new British record
  Weightlifting: Smith sets new British record

One Comment

1. Pingback: Weightlifting: Zoe Smith snatches World Youth Championship Silver | Sportsister

You must be logged in to post a comment Login