Olympic boxing champ Nicola Adams set for OBE in Queen’s New Year’s Honours List
The double-Olympic gold-winner made history at London 2012 when she became the world’s first female boxing champion
OLYMPIC hero Nicola Adams is set to be rewarded with an OBE in The Queen’s New Year’s Honours list, in recognition of her sporting achievements.
The 34-year-old sportswoman made history at London 2012 when she became the world’s first female boxing champion, bagging herself a gold medal in the process.
And her repetition of the feat in at the Rio Olympics this summer has won her the latest honour — which is set to be announced on New Year’s Day.
A source said: “Nicola has been a real inspiration to many for what can be achieved in sport – especially by women in an area traditionally dominated by men.
“She has single-handedly put women’s boxing on the map in the UK, and has also used her profile for tremendous good in the community by supporting a number of good causes and charities.
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“The honours committee feel she’s a shining example of a role-model to young women in Britain – and wanted to give her an OBE in recognition of that.
“Just winning gold medals is no guarantee of an honour – they take much more than that into consideration, and look at a person’s wider contribution to the community too.”
Leeds-born Nicola has become a popular figure in the sport and well known outside of boxing for her charity and community work, which has seen her named the most influential LGBT person in Britain.
She revealed: “You never know how the family is going to react, so I was nervous. Mum was in the kitchen and I was like, ‘I’ve got something to tell you’.
“I was really sweating, and she says, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I was just like, ‘I’m bisexual.’ And she was like, ‘OK, put the kettle on.’ She said she kind of already knew.”
In 2013 she was appointed an MBE, her first major national honour, receiving the award from The Queen in the wake of the London Olympics.
But the new honour puts her in an even more exclusive set of sportspeople, which also includes David Beckham, Gary Lineker, Denise Lewis and Rebecca Adlington.
The memo revealed that athletes would also be judged on the basis of their community contributions alongside their age and the participation numbers of their sport.