ABBEY Wood teenager Zoe Smith bagged a British record and placed second in her weightlifting group at the Excel to roars from the crowd this afternoon.
The 18-year-old managed 90kg in the snatch round, stumbling as she tried to go higher at 93kg.
But in her favoured clean and jerk round she lifted 116kg, seemingly with ease.
A first attempt at 121kg failed, but the teen pulled it off the second time, giving her a place in the nation’s record books.
Smith’s total of 211kg put her second in Group B, but she must now wait for Group A to lift at 3.30pm, home to the competition’s bigger hitters, to find out her final placing.
Speaking after her phenomenal British record, Zoe Smith said: "“This afternoon was an amazing experience. The crowd were great and over the next few days I am going to reflect on what has happened.
“I was very pleased that after a disappointing start I was able to come back and perform so well in the clean and jerk. It is all going to stand me in very good stead for Rio in 2016.”
Throughout the competition Smith was cheered on by a loud and supportive home crowd which numbered around 6,000 people.
She said: "I want to thank every single member of the crowd, who really helped me come back and do so well in the clean and jerk.
“It is an experience I am never going to forget."
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