LDN 12: Zoe Newson is aiming to lift a personal best

Today the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics, tomorrow the competition begins.  Excitement grows ahead of the predicted best attended paralympic games in history. Paralympic GB are aiming to improve on the last haul of medals.

Thanks to our friends at Paralympic GB for the following post and for providing information throughout the games.

GO TEAM GB!

British powerlifter Zoe Newson is aiming to lift a personal best in front of home fans when she competes at her first Paralympic Games at the ExCeL on the first day of competition tomorrow (Thursday).

The 20-year-old from Colchester, who lifts in the women’s Under 40kg event on the first evening session of the Games, won the world junior title in Kuala Lumpur in 2010 and broke the European record by lifting more than twice her bodyweight to win the British title last year.

But that record fell to Nazmiye Muslu in February this year and Newson is tipping the Turkish lifter for gold at London 2012.

”I’m ranked third or fourth in the world, but my aim is just to get a personal best and enjoy it, doing the best I can,” she said after training in the Paralympic venue on Tuesday. “I’m not concentrating on medals, I think Nazmiye Muslu and China’s Cui Zhe will get gold and silver.”

Newson, who admits to a fondness for beans, sausages and tomato ketchup, is pleased to be competing on day one  so she can enjoy the rest of the Games, including the food in the Paralympic Village.

“I’m glad I’m on the first day of the tournament because you have to watch what you eat,” said Newson. “If I was on right at the end of the competition, I wouldn’t be able to eat certain foods or enjoy it.

“This is my first Paralympics. I just missed out on qualifying for Beijing but I think I would have finished last if I had made it. But I’m excited because this is my first one and it’s my home country, so you can’t get better than that.”