BalanceJuneIssue2017 - 26

T

he morning drizzle has turned torrential.
We're sitting in a light-filled studio in east
London watching Nicola Adams flash the
same luminous smile that greeted the
roaring crowd at London 2012 when she
won gold in the women's flyweight final.
Overnight, she became the world's first
female boxing Olympic champion, a health
and fitness icon and a national treasure.

Nicola, 34, enters the Balance studio wearing a

black Adidas tracksuit and chic Ray Ban specs that
accentuate her features - high cheekbones, bright
hazel eyes and that beaming grin. We notice her face
bears no scars. 'I'm too good!' laughs Nicola between
flashes of the camera. Undoubtedly so.
Since becoming the first female boxer to
represent England in 2001, Nicola has rewritten
sporting history over and over. She became English
amateur champion in 2003 and is the first woman
to have won European, Commonwealth and
World titles. Last summer, at Rio, she was the only
British boxer since 1924 to retain an Olympic gold.

PAVING THE WAY
'It's easy to achieve goals when almost every time
you step into the ring you're making history. It's
nice to think that even long after I'm gone, that
history is still going to be there,' says Nicola, who
moved from amateur boxing to the more lucrative
professional game earlier this year, fighting under
the name The Lioness.
Her decision to sign with legendary boxing
promoter Frank Warren was remarkable, given
that three years ago he declared: 'I don't like
women's boxing. Never have, and never will.'
Nicola must be the forgiving sort.
'It's an unlikely pairing!' she admits. 'When
I went to see him, he said: "You're the person
who's changed my mind about women's
boxing." The fact that I've been able to change
people's minds and perceptions is nice.'
Women's boxing dates back to the 1720s, but
was illegal throughout much of modern history
because, among many explanations, it was
thought that PMT made women unstable in the
ring (yes, really). Even after the Amateur Boxing
Association lifted the ban in 1996, Nicola - who
took up the sport at the age of 12 - has repeatedly
encountered sexism.

24

BALANCE June 2017



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BalanceJuneIssue2017

BalanceJuneIssue2017 - 1
BalanceJuneIssue2017 - 2
BalanceJuneIssue2017 - 3
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