Nicola Adams became the first British boxer to retain their Olympic Games title since 1924, beating France’s Sarah Ourahmoune in the women's flyweight final.
The 33-year-old from Leeds won by unanimous decision, cruising through the first two rounds before defending her advantage in the fight’s final two.
Adams, who won the inaugural women’s flyweight title in London, matches middleweight Harry Mallin’s feat of 1920 and 1924 in defending her title and takes Team GB’s 26th gold of the Games.
“It feels absolutely amazing, especially to be able to think to myself that I’ve created history and I’m not the most accomplished British amateur boxer of all time," she said.
“It’s pretty much the same feeling as in London. I’ve had a massive amount of support from Yorkshire and the rest of the nation. I feel like I had all their support in the ring with me every punch I was throwing, so I’d like to say thank you to everyone." All three judges scored Adams the winner in the first two rounds, where she looked relatively untroubled by her French opponent. But Ourahmoune was given the decision by all three judges in the third round to keep the bout alive. A scrappy fourth round was given in Adams's favour thanks to some solid counter-attacking blows as Ourahmoune attempted to reverse her deficit. And while Adams looked cool and collected in the ring, she admits she was feeling the same nerves and emotions as with any other fight.
“I’m always nervous for every competition I have," she said. "I think it’s good to have nervous energy when you get into the ring. It gives you the adrenaline and it lets you know that you’re taking it seriously, not just thinking that you’re going to win it.
“The route to gold was not easier this time. I had to qualify the same way as everyone else. It’s tough because everyone wants to go to the Olympic Games, so every time you beat someone you’re crushing their dreams.
“I felt like I did enough to win [when the bell rang], definitely. I thought I was winning the rounds comfortably and was scoring the cleaner shots.”