Zoe Smith

Zoe Smith (1998-) grew up in a sporty family in Bournemouth, and enjoyed competitive swimming, tennis and football which she played at a high level within the women’s league. She studied and obtained a BSc Hons degree in Sport Science and Psychology and had plans to go on and study a PGCE in Physical Education. Before the car accident which led to the amputation of her left leg in 2015, she had recently returned from an around the world trip visiting over a dozen different countries. She took up surfing at The Wave in Bristol in 2021, inspired by seeing a video of an amputee surfer in the England squad called Pegleg Pennett. She was soon recruited by the England paralympic surf team and with some coaching on the waves in Cornwall, finished fifth in her class at the World Para Surfing Championship in California, narrowly missing out on a medal.