Rio Olympics 2016: Nicola Adams claims back-to-back gold medals to become first British fighter to achieve feat since 1924
London 2012 golden girl defended her crown as she beat France's Sarah Ourahmoune in flyweight final
NICOLA ADAMS never had a moment's doubt the gold was hers.
And she's just as certain that she’s now the greatest British Olympic boxer of all time.
The judges might have kept her waiting for dramatic effect after a tense flyweight final with French scrapper Sarah Ourahmoune.
The crowd might have held their breath, too nervous to guess which way it would go.
Ourahmoune herself might have had her eyes closed, praying to hear her name shouted out loud.
But Nicola knew. She’d known all along. She stood there, her right hand in the referee’s left, her own left index finger wagging straight at the TV camera trained on her smiling face.
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It was her title. Her gold. And after becoming the first women to retain an Olympic boxing title, the cocky 33-year-old from Leeds grinned: “It that it feels amazing to be able to think to myself that I’ve created history - and that I’m the most accomplished amateur boxer Britain of all time.
“It’s a nice title to have.
“I felt like I’d done enough to win. It felt like I was winning the rounds comfortably, scoring the cleaner shots.
“It’s as good a feeling as it was in London four years ago. I’ve had massive support from the people back home in Yorkshire and all over the country. It felt like I had that support with me in the ring, with every punch I was throwing, “I just want to say thanks to everyone who’s been there for me, my brother, my mum, my coach, everyone.”
When the result was announced, Adams did an Ali Shuffle across the ring, before running to a neutral corner and leaping on the ropes, punching the air towards the roaring GB fans in the RioCentro Arena.
Adams might have wept on the medal podium, but that smile of hers seems to get bigger every time you see her - and let’s face it, she has plenty to smile about.
She’s the World, Commonwealth, European champion and now double Olympic champion. The first British boxer to retain a title since middleweight Harry Mallin in 1924. She wears an MBE with pride, was the first woman to be honoured by Britain’s boxing writers and has an honorary law degree from Leeds University. She is, in short, the business.
Yet - whisper it, because she’s got a hefty right hook on her - this fight wasn’t nearly as clean-cut as she made it out to be.
She did enough in the opening two rounds to edge each 10-9 on the cards of all three judges, but Ourahmoune - who took up boxing at a time when it was still illegal for French girls to get into the ring - came out swinging in the third to cut the gap to the width of a bootlace.
For me, the judges got that one wrong, because as much as Ourahmoune connected with a few in that third round, she left herself open to just as many. If anything, however, she just edged the fourth and there were plenty in here who wouldn’t have bet ten bob on Britain winning a 26th gold of the Games.
Adams, of course, could have staked her house on it.
Told she’s lost the third round, she laughed: “I just like to keep things interesting, I guess! “I actually didn’t know the scores going through, so I wasn’t aware till now that she’d won the third round.
“Like I say, I always thought I’d done enough and that’s how it turned out.
“Now I want to take a holiday - though I’m not saying where, because you’ll all be there! After that, I’ll decide what to do next.
“As far as Tokyo in 2020 goes, I need to sit down and relax and see what happens.
“It’s been tough getting here. You have to qualify the same every time, you have to face the best every time and every time you beat someone, you’re crushing their dreams.”