Townley Grammar School hosted a press conference for the London Youth Games patron Zoe Smith

By Imogen, Janaki, Chloe, Noémie, Sivasreuthi, Britney, Gloria, Sarah, Aimée, Hannah, Fatemah, Bobbie, Emily and Georgia From Townley Grammar School, Bexleyheath

The thrilled BBC News School Reporters of Townley Grammar School were today given the chance to interview former pupil and Commonwealth weightlifting medallist, Zoe Smith.

Zoe came to our school today to promote the London Youth Games and was very proud to tell us about being Patron for organisation.

She said: 'It's good to be back and I'm excited to see my friends. But also it's slightly nerve wracking!"

Zoe was also here to promote a series of videos that she has made with the London Youth Games, in which she was paired with Paralympian David Weir.

Zoe Smith and David Weir both competed in the London Youth Games when they were younger

In the videos they compete against each other in a series of sporting events. Zoe found this fun but frustrating at being beaten. "I learnt to deal with losing!" she laughed.

Question Time

In our press conference with Zoe, School Reporter Bobbie asked the first question: "How do you feel about the forthcoming weightlifting 2012 test event at the London ExCel Centre?"

Zoe replied that she was very excited and is looking forward to it, however, she recently had a minor injury which she called a "blip" in her back and is worried that this could influence her performance!

We also learned about her lifestyle and how being a weightlifter affected her life.

Life of an athlete

She told us she feels that being an athlete, especially a weightlifter, can be a challenge trying to balance her training and her social life, living so far from home, family and friends.

Zoe Smith became the youngest ever Commonwealth weightlifting medallist in 2010

Zoe also explained how a typical day for her consists of waking up at about 6am followed by training at the gym at around 9.30am.

Being an athlete isn't easy!

She has a very strict diet which includes a protein shake in the morning and a mid-morning snack of almonds, followed by chicken and bulgar wheat for lunch, and salmon and broccoli for dinner.

Zoe told us that in her spare time she likes to draw and is currently learning to drive. And, although she lives far away from her friends, they have supported her throughout her career.

Olympic Dreams

Answering the many questions thrown at her with a quick fire response about her social life, training and future prospects, Zoe also told us something surprising!

"If I won at the 2012 Olympics, I would somersault off of the podium and run around screaming 'I WON THE OLYMPICS!' and buy myself a treat!" she admitted.

Overall the experience was amazing and we learnt so much from it. And we wish Zoe good luck in the Olympic events coming up!

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