Zoe Newson admitted homesickness took its toll after a near-miss in her bid for a third consecutive Paralympic powerlifting medal.

Newson, 29, won bronze in the women's under 40kg event at London 2012 and five years ago in Rio but took time out of the sport, after giving birth to son Duncan.

China's Guo Lingling took gold with a new world record of 109kg while Indonesia's Nengah Widiasih Ni and Venezuela's Clara Fuentes Monasterio completed the podium.

Newson had a clean lift of 94kg with her first lift but failed on two subsequent attempts at 97kg to finish fourth.

"I hope I didn't let anyone down," said Newson, who won gold at the recent World Cup in Dubai, her first competition since the pandemic.

"I’m a bit disappointed in my performance but I have to move on and focus on the next competition now.

"The Chinese winner is just good lifter, with a great technique and I do look up to her."

Newsom will return to Chelmsford this weekend and can't wait to be reunited with partner Dan and son Duncan.

"It’s been really hard, it’s the longest time I’ve been away from them and that’s played on my mind," she admitted.

"I’ve been FaceTiming them two or three times a day and that’s really helped, thankfully I get to see them again soon.

“Dan, my partner, has supported me so much. When I have a down day - when I don’t want to train - he always helps me up. It’s good to have his support.

“It has been a hard managing training and being a mum, but luckily I have great support behind me and I always find a way.

“My life has totally changed since having Duncan. I had him six weeks early because of the difference in size and he’s already as tall as me!”

Newsom is already looking ahead to future events but insists it's too early to make a call on a fourth Paralympic appearance in Paris, though next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham could be a chance to upgrade her bronze on the Gold Coast in 2018.

“I’m getting a bit old for this now,” she said. “But I just want to get people into sport as well. I know how much I love the sport.

“When I was younger, I never really did much sport because of my size.

“It would mean the world to me to inspire someone else, because I love doing powerlifting and travelling the world.”

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