Paralympic bronze medallist Zoe Newson was the star attendee at Brandon Leisure Centre's Open Weekend on Saturday 27 October.

Zoe won a bronze medal in the Women's 40kg Power Lifting Category at this year’s Paralympic Games. Zoe is just 20 years old and has Growth Hormone Deficiency (Dwarfism) but she is already a European Junior record holder and her personal best saw her lift 88kg, which is amazingly over double her weight, which made her World Junior champion.

Last month, Zoe was voted Joint Sports Personality of the Year at the Suffolk Sports Awards 2012 with Anthony Ogogo (boxing Olympic bronze medallist).

Zoe was born in East Bergholt near Ipswich and is a member of the Suffolk Spartans Power Lifting Club.

"I am a Suffolk girl born and bred and have always been determined to make my mark in the world of sport," said Zoe. "The support I have had has been fantastic and I want to encourage more people, both able-bodied and disabled, to get active and strive to be the best they can. Your local leisure centre is a great place to start."

Nigel Snape, operations manager of Anglia Community Leisure – which manages Brandon Leisure Centre – said: "Zoe's attendance was well received by all as she gave an insight into her training regime and even demonstrated what this entailed."

The open weekend ran from 26-28 October and was the start of the centre's first birthday celebrations. Together with its sports facilities, the centre now offers an extensive group exercise programme, activities for children and families, community use, social events and hire for special functions such as parties and weddings. Over the weekend, people could look round the facilities, try out free taster sessions and take advantage of special offers and promotions.

Photograph: (L-R) Ollie Burns (ACL Fitness Instructor), Lee Hyne (ACL Fitness Instructor), Zoe Newson, Izzy Croker (ACL Health & Fitness manager), Laura Nightingale (ACL Fitness Instructor)