Leeds boxing star Nicola Adams tells all on Desert Island Discs

Leeds's Double Olympic champion boxing Nicola Adams has used an appearance on the BBC's Desert Island Discs to call for more to be done to restore public confidence in elite athletes.
Nicola Adams, who this summer won her second Olympic gold medal.Nicola Adams, who this summer won her second Olympic gold medal.
Nicola Adams, who this summer won her second Olympic gold medal.

Adams, from Ebor Gardens, was one of a number of leading British sports stars whose previous legitimate use of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) were leaked online by Russian hackers in the wake of this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio.

The data showed Adams, who suffers from asthma, received a TUE in February 2016 for the steroid methylprednisolone, and had made a previous TUE application in 2007.

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Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Adams said: “Maybe we could make all the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) files public, or whatever makes people happiest.

“What everybody doesn’t understand is that athletes have gone through the proper protocols to get the sanction for whatever they need to use the drug for, so they are completely within their rights.”

Referring to the leaking of her own personal information, Adams added: “It shouldn’t have been done that way, definitely, but maybe just make it public, then it doesn’t seem like you’re hiding anything.”

Adams’ views on the issue contrast with those of the UK Anti-Doping Agency, who have maintained that individuals have a right for their medical issues to remain private.

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Speaking to the BBC in September, UKAD chief Nicole Sapstead said: “I don’t think it’s appropriate to publicise an athlete’s personal medical condition or the substance they are being subscribed.”

Meanwhile Adams, who has not fought since winning her second consecutive Olympic flyweight crown in Rio, dropped a further hint that she is set to turn professional.

The Leeds 34-year-old has been left out of the GB team for the European Championships in Bulgaria this week and is expected to make an announcement before Christmas.

She told the programme: “I love the fact that if I go into pro boxing I’ll be taking up a whole new set of challenges - I love a challenge and I’ll be breaking down barriers and walls again which does excite me a lot.

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“I know there’s huge potential, the (women’s) professional game is just waiting for a big name to step in there and open up the doors.

“I don’t think we’re that far away and maybe in a couple of years we could be seeing a woman headlining Vegas and I most probably could be (that woman).”

Adams’ eclectic musical choice on the programme included Frank Sinatra, Canadian rapper Drake and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, while her luxury item was a games console.