'I've made history!' Nicola Adams wins gold as she becomes the first Briton to defend an Olympic boxing title in 92 years
- The 33-year-old from Leeds became a double Olympic champion in Rio
- She is Britain's first boxer to defend a gold medal crown since 1924
- Her gold came despite a first round scare against Tetyana Kob of Ukraine
- Speaking after her historic victory, she did not rule out a return in Tokyo
PUBLISHED: 18:17, 20 August 2016 | UPDATED: 19:53, 20 August 2016
The darling of the London Games became a double Olympic champion in Rio tonight with a swashbuckling display in the ring.
The 33-year-old with the infectious smile produced a tigerish performance to defeat France's Sarah Ouhramoun.
She is the first Britain's first boxer to defend a gold medal crown since London policeman Harry Mallin in 1924.
Leeds' Nicola Adams celebrates becoming a double Olympic champion in the ring in Rio
The 33-year-old won a unanimous points decision to beat France's Sarah Ourahmoune
The double Olympic champion wipes away a tear after being presented with her gold medal
Britain have now won 26 golds in Rio and 63 medals overall, two short of the record 65 won at London 2012.
Adams famously enjoyed a Nandos meal after her her Olympic title in London.
She celebrated in Rio with an Ali Shuffle when the unanimous verdict was announced and shared a hug with heavyweight fighter Anthony Joshua - who also won gold in London 2012 - amid jubilant scenes.
The 33-year-old kisses her gold medal after her superb performance in the ring tonight
She told MailOnline: 'The gold rush continues. I can't believe it I am now officially our most accomplished amateur boxer ever and it is such an amazing feeling.
'I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me, my mum and my brother, my coach and all my fans, it's been amazing. We made it!
'It is well up there (compared with London). They are both on the same level. It takes a lot to win an Olympic medal, especially to win it twice, and I would just like to thank everybody.'
She said she had been inspired by her fellow Team GB athletes.
'Seeing Mo Farah fall down, get up, show determination, and go out and win his gold medal was amazing', she said.
Nicola Adams defended her Olympic crown in Rio tonight with a victory over Sarah Ouhramoun
The 33-year-old from Leeds unanimously outpointed Sarah Ourahmoune of France to claim flyweight gold
She added: 'I have had a massive amount of support from Yorkshire and the rest of the nation.
'I feel like I have all their support in the ring with me every punch I was throwing.
It feels absolutely amazing. I've made history.
'I'm going to go on a nice holiday, take some time out and think about what comes next.'
The 33-year-old worked as an extra on soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale to make ends meet before her rise to stardom.
Discussing that today she said: 'I always look back on the hard times. It's what gives me the drive and ambition to keep moving forward and keep creating history.'
She added: 'I started crying [after my win]. I haven't cried in so long. That just shows how much it means to me.
On going for an unprecedented third Olympic gold in Tokyo, she said: 'Oh yeah, definitely. Who knows? I need to sit down, have a little think, go on holiday, and relive all this for a while before I decide what to do.'
The champion boxer had showed her class landing punch after punch on her rival's face
Her stunning gold despite a wobble in the first round against Tetyana Kob of Ukraine.
But the Leeds lassie roared back to form during the competition.
In tonight's final her French opponent took the third of the four rounds but that was the only interruption to Adams' superiority.
Astonishingly, Adams only took up boxing when her mother, Dee, took her and her brother Kurtis to a boxing gym when she was 12 - because she couldn't get a babysitter to look after the kids while she did aerobics.
Dee, from Leeds, said: 'I can't wait for her [Nicola] to bring that gold medal home to Leeds. She is so proud of being from Yorkshire and coming from Leeds.
Dee added: 'There's no words that can describe how I feel now, being a proud mum - it's just such an incredible feeling.'
'It does not seem real. It just does not seem real. We all knew that she could do it but watching her do it and knowing that her opponent wanted the title as much as she does was so hard.
'I still have not come down to earth. I am so happy. I must be one of the proudest mothers on the planet. Us Yorkshire mums rock.'
Nicola Adams wiped tears from her eyes and punched the air as the national anthem played around the boxing arena and the union flag was raised
Adams, from Leeds, has won Olympic, European and Commonwealth golds and becomes the first Briton to defend her Olympic crown since middleweight Harry Mallin in 1924
Ms Adams said Nicola would relish a homecoming celebration in Leeds.
She said: 'I think that a homecoming in Leeds would be great. Nicola would really enjoy that because she is Leeds born and bred, she is from the heart of Leeds.'
Her success continues Yorkshire's incredible showing at the Games.
They currently lie ahead of Usain Bolt's Jamaica, Spain and host nation Brazil in the medal table.
The county's other gold medallists include Alistair Brownlee, cyclist Ed Clancy, diver Jack Laugher, cyclist Ed Clancy and rowers Andrew Triggs Hodge and Paul Bennett.
Boxer took up sport after her mother took her and her brother to a boxing gym when she couldn't get a babysitter
Nicola Adams first took up the sport at 12-years-old, when her mother took her and brother to Burmantofts amateur club with her.
Ms Adams said: 'We had just moved to the area, I was doing aerobics and couldn't get a baby sitter, so I took her and her brother with me to the gym and that's how it all started for her.'
Recalling that, Nicola said: 'There were kids in the ring doing technique work and kids in the mirrors shadow-boxing. I just thought, wow, this must have been what it was like for Muhammad Ali.'
When she first took up the sport there was no obvious career path for women and with no financial support, she had to make money as an extra on soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street, as well as doing odd-jobs.
That changed in 2007 when women began to be funded through the National Lottery - which has been credited with helping change Team GB's fortunes at the Olympic Games.
Adams said she took up boxing 'by accident' after a trip to an amateur boxing club
Nicola Adams, aged 15, who had to work as an extra on soaps to make ends meet in the early stages of her boxing career
Her mother added: 'Nicola has worked for everything she has got - we weren't given this on a silver spoon.
'She is an inspiration because she has just come from an ordinary background and that is how she has got hearts in Leeds.'
Leeds City Council said the city will host a homecoming celebration to honour athletes from the region who competed in this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3750653/Nicola-Adams-wins-Britain-s-26th-gold-medal-defends-Olympic-boxing-title-Rio.html#ixzz4HtwNiEbC
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