Teenage champion who is worth her weight in gold

SHE'S just 5ft 2in tall and 14 years old but weightlifter Zoe Smith has been crowned Athlete of the Year by the British Olympic Association.

Zoe won the title, usually only given to Olympic medallists, after taking gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in India in October.

Weighing under nine stone, Zoe lifted three times her bodyweight, set 98 British records last year and held every record except one between the ages of 14 and senior.

Now Zoe, from Abbey Wood, is going for gold at the 2012 Olympics. She said: "Seeing the excitement of the home crowd in Beijing made me determined to try to make it to the Games in my own city."