Nicola Adams

Nicola Virginia Adams (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 2019. As an amateur, she became the first female boxer to become an Olympic champion after winning gold at London 2012, and the first double Olympic champion following a second gold medal at Rio 2016, both in the flyweight division. As of 27 May 2016 she was the reigning Olympic, World and European Games champion at flyweight, and won the entire set of amateur championships available to her – Olympic, Commonwealth and European Games' titles, and the World, European and European Union championships.

Adams represented Haringey Police Community Club at boxing. She is openly lesbian, and was named the most influential LGBT person in Britain by ''The Independent'' in 2012 and has been included in the annual ''Powerlist'', recognition as one of the most influential people of African/African-Caribbean descent in the UK. She also became the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, after her win at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Adams was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, on 26 October 1982. She was educated at Agnes Stewart Church of England High School, Ebor Gardens, Burmantofts, Leeds. She also went to Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale.

Amateur career

File:Nicola Adams vs Sandra Drabik - 2015 European Games - Final 5.JPG, Nicola Adams (red) at the final of the European Games 2015 in Baku (Azerbaijan)

Adams fought (and won) her first bout at the age of 13, but it was four years before she found a second opponent. In 2001, she became the first woman boxer ever to represent England, in a fight against an Irish boxer. In 2003, she became English amateur champion for the first time, and she retained the title at the next three championships.

In 2007, Adams became the first English female boxer to win a medal in a major boxing tournament, taking silver in the European Championships. She won silver again at the world championships in Ningbo, China, in 2008, which was Britain’s first women’s world championship medal in women’s boxing. The following year she had to abstain from the sport for several months due to a back injury, but she returned to success at the 2010 world championships in Bridgetown, Barbados, taking Silver again, competing now at . Adams struggled to continue her boxing career due to lack of funds. She worked as an acting extra on soap operas such as ''Coronation Street'', ''Emmerdale'', and ''EastEnders'', and worked as a builder before the International Olympic Committee backed funding for women's boxing in 2009.

In November 2010, Adams was victorious in the first-ever GB Amateur Boxing Championship at the Echo Arena Liverpool. In 2011, she won gold at the European Union Amateur Boxing Championships in Katowice. In July 2011, the BBC
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