Nicola Adams is British boxer and the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title.
Rising to fame during the 2012 London Olympics, Adams won gold at flyweight level during to games.
Since the Olympics, Adams has gone on to win many awards and accolades. In 2012, she became the first female boxer to receive an award from the Boxing Writers’ Club of Great Britain. She was also the first woman to have been invited to the club’s awards ceremony.
In the Queen’s 2013 New Year’s Honours List, Adams received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). She was also nominated for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award.
Adams is also openly bisexual, raising awareness and being a spokesperson for the LGBT cause. In 2012, the Independent named her the most influential LGBT person in Britain. After her Olympic win, she became the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing.
Adams will be competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, with the hope of winning a further gold medal.
Below you will find the best inspirational quotes from Nicola Adams:
“[One] label that has been attached to me is “bisexual”, although I would rather be just a person and not be categorised.”
“I think I’ve coped all right with the attention. I’m still the same person I always was but now a lot more people know me.”
“I’m quite fearless. I’m like, let’s just go out there and do this and see what happens.”
“I have never tried to hide my sexuality, but I have spoken about it before in the press, either, because I didn’t want it to overshadow everything else. It is an important aspect of who I am, but it doesn’t define me.”
“Women boxers have come a long way. In the 90s you only ever saw women parading in heels and a bikini holding a scorecard. Now we’re owning it we should get some male models in speedos to do the ring walk.”
“The most important thing is to be honest about yourself. Secrets weigh heavy and it’s when you try to keep everything to yourself that it becomes a burden. You waste energy agonising when you could be living your life and realising your dreams.”
“I was lucky as I was in a gym where I was accepted as a girl who did boxing. Now the perception of women’s boxing has totally changed. I think it’s now my responsibility to keep the bandwagon rolling.”
“I went into boxing and I’m bisexual and I still achieved and performed at the highest level and I came away with gold and made history so with that said, anything is possible.”
“I know there are people who don’t agree with women boxing. But at the end of the day, boxing is a sport and women should be able to do any sport they choose. We’re at a stage now where it’s all about equality. If a woman wants to play a sport, she can. There’s nothing stopping us.”
“I want to win a gold in Rio. I want to be the first person – male or female – to win two gold medals at the Olympic Games, and become the greatest amateur boxer in British history. And nothing is going to stand in my way.”
“Don’t let anything stop you from going into the sport and do what you have to do.”
