Nicola Adams says the opportunity to set an Olympic record in Brazil this year has given her extra motivation to win a second consecutive gold medal in the global event.
Adams became the first female to ever win a women’s boxing gold in London four years ago after defeating China’s Ren Cancan in the Flyweight final.
The 33-year-old has kicked on from the triumph on home soil and has managed to add Commonwealth, World and European titles in the same weight category to complete a clean sweep.
Her most recent success came at the 2016 World Championships in Astana where she managed to beat Thailand’s Peamwilai Laopeam in the final.
The Leeds-born star has been enjoying the extra celebrity privileges after all the glory but the perks have not been distracting her ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Adams would become the first Briton since Harry Mallin in 1924 to win back-to-back Olympic boxing golds and this potential feat has been spurring her on.
“Definitely the motivation for me this time around is the fact I’ll be making history again, hopefully becoming a double Olympic champion,” she told Press Association Sport.
“We’ve never had one before in the women’s and we haven’t had one in the men’s for a long time. I’m here to get rid of this drought of double gold medallists and hopefully I can achieve that.”
Adams is expected to face some strong competition for gold in Brazil this year with Laopeam looking to exact revenge for her recent World Championship final defeat.
France’s highly-rated boxer Sarah Ourahmoune is another tipped to go far while Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova is always seen as a dangerous opponent and must be respected.
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