Adams claims historic crown

Flyweight battles past Frenchwoman to become first British fighter to retain an Olympic title since 1924

FROM the moment she swaggered into the ring yesterday, it was abundantly clear Nicola Adams was about to make British Olympic history. The 33-year-old could not have looked more relaxed for her flyweight gold medal match against France’s Sarah Ourahmoune – flashing her million-dollar smile and shadow-boxing for all the world to see as she bounced on to the canvas in Riocentro.

And once the bell went for the first round, the most decorated boxer in British amateur history was far too classy for her smaller and older opponent, who was fighting in her first Olympics.

Adams was a prohibitive favourite – she had won all four past bouts between the two – most recently in April. It is one thing being the favourite and another to go out and deliver your best performance on sport’s biggest stage, but Adams is the real deal – and when the heat came on, particularly in the third and fourth rounds as her opponent threw caution to the wind, the Leeds fighter simply found another gear.

Having successfully defended her title from London 2012, the first British boxer to do that since 1924, Adams flashed that winning smile in her post-match conference. She said: “It feels absolutely amazing, especially the fact I’ve created history and I’m now the most accomplished British amateur boxer of all time.

“It’s pretty much the same feeling as in London. I 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.

“It’s tough at the Olympics because every time you beat someone you’re crushing their dreams, but I felt like I did enough to win, definitely. I thought I was winning the rounds comfortably and was scoring the cleaner shots.”

The combined age of these boxers stood at over 68 years – an Olympic record – but they showed no signs of slowing down in an enthralling bout. Ourahmoune, bronze medallist at the worlds this year when Adams beat her in the semi-finals, was boxing in her first and last Olympics – she has already said she will retire after Rio 2016 – and struggled to settle.

Adams used her longer arms to great effect in the opening two rounds – her jab keeping the Frenchwoman at bay before unloading some impressive combinations when they came together. At the halfway stage all the judges had Adams ahead and Ourahmoune looked out of ideas. But the Frenchwoman refused to buckle and in the third round began to walk through Adams’ jab and do some damage on the inside. A couple of heavy shots rocked the defending champion in the third – “I like to keep it interesting,” Adams quipped afterwards – but she regained her composure to see out the round.

The fourth and final round was manic as both women stood in the centre of the ring and went blow for blow, but at the final bell Adams had clearly done enough.

Not only is Adams a superb ring technician, she is also a superb ambassador for a sport whose reputation is currently in the gutter – but whether she will fight at Tokyo 2020 remains to be seen. “I’m going to take a holiday and come back to work on what’s next,” she said.

While there was success for Adams, Great Britain team-mate Lutalo Muhammad, was experiencing very different emotions after a “horrible moment” when his gold medal dream was dashed in the final second of a dramatic men’s - 80kg taekwondo final overnight. Muhammad looked set to emulate Jade Jones until Ivory Coast opponent Cheick Sallah Cisse swung a last-gasp head-kick which snatched an 8-6 win just as the final buzzer sounded.

Muhammad, who won bronze at London 2012 and had battled to qualify for his second Games, defying a knee injury and a hallenge from team-mate Damon Sansum, said: “It’s a horrible moment when, in the last second, his points have gone on the board, time has run out and there is nothing you can do about it.

“Obviously, the emotions are very raw right now. It’s tough to lose in the Olympic final, especially in the last second of a match I was winning.

“It does make it all the more painful. If I had been losing throughout I would accept it, but I came very close to achieving my goal, and I am going to have to settle for second best today.”

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