Nicola Adams

Hailing from Leeds, Nicola Adams was the first British woman to win an Olympic boxing title at London 2012. , She then went on to defend her gold by winning again at the 2016 Olympic gold medallist in the women's flyweight division. During her amateur career, she won the entire set of championships available to her including the Olympic, Commonwealth and European Games' titles, and the World, European and European Union championships.

In her early days she represented Haringey Police Community Club at boxing. In 2001, she became the first woman boxer ever to represent England.

In 2012 she was named the most influential LGBT person in Britain by The Independent. She also became the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic boxing Gold medal in 2012.

In 2012, she became the first female boxer to receive an award from the Boxing Writers' Club of Great Britain and was the first woman ever to be invited to the club's awards ceremony. She was appointed MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours and OBE in the 2017 New Year Honours, for services to boxing. In 2015, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by the University of Leeds.

She says of boxing: ‘It’s one of those sports where you’re never the finished article. There’s always something more to learn; a new move – you could always be faster, stronger, more technical.’

Since moving from the amateur ranks to professional,