By Jess McCabe | 7 January 2009, 12:41

Zoe Smith is “Britain’s strongest girl” - she’s a 14-year-old weightlifter, and broke 98 British records last year.

The Telegraph and the Mail have profiled her, because she’s been named athlete of the year in her sport by the British Olympic Association:

Zoe, a former gymnast, first started weightlifting at the age of 12 after she was asked to make up the numbers in a weightlifting team for London Youth Games.

Too young to participate because the coaches did not realise she was only 12, Zoe was taken under the wing of her trainer Andy Callard at the Europa Gymnastics Centre, where she continued her development, training for eight hours a week.

And since turning 13, she has systematically smashed nearly every national record there is.

Going onto to break 98 British records in 2008, Zoe became the youngest ever holder of senior British weightlifting records. She now holds every record, bar one, in the 53kg weight category from senior down to under 14 level.

She said: “I’m not too sure yet which competitions I’ll be taking part in this year but it is definitely my intention to continue setting new records.”

Fantastic, hey?!

(Via Jezebel)