Weightlifter in funding plea for Olympic place
OLYMPIC weightlifter Zoe Smith has launched a gofundme page to raise money to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after the decision of UK Sport to withdraw all of its funding to British Weightlifting.
Smith (24) studies, works and trains in Loughborough and in 2010 became England’s first female weightlifting medallist at a Commonwealth Games aged just 16, going on to win gold in 2014 and silver in the Gold Coast earlier this year.
Now in training for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 Smith and her team mates are looking to raise £10,000 each to be able to afford to get to the qualification events needed to qualify for the Olympics, which are scattered across Europe and Asia.
The first event is the World Championships in Turkmenistan in November, then there is the European Championships in 2019 and 2020, the 2020 World Championships and two further events still to be confirmed by the International Weightlifting Federation.
Smith said: “Missing one competition would render us ineligi- ble to compete and our Olympic dreams could be shattered before they even start. Obviously, this is a huge amount for somebody who receives no funding and I’m unlikely to be able to achieve this goal by scrimping and saving alone - especially alongside full time college, part time work and trying to train for the Olympics.”
Any donation is welcome but Zoe is also offering weightlifting coaching services for larger donations including a video analysis and four week weightlifting programme for £200 right through to a weighlifting workshop at your gym for up to 10 people for £1,000.
Since the page was launched last week a total of £3,201 has been pledged and she has revealed that if the target is exceeded, the cash will help her team mates.
“I am truly humbled by the positivity, generosity and support show to me. If I’m fortunate enough to raise more than the £10,000 I’m targeting, the additional money will go back into the pot to help my teammates afford their own Olympic journeys.”
If you want to help Zoe her page is at https://www.gofundme. com/ help- us- qualify- for- theolympics