Why your YEP is boxing clever to champion Leeds and its communities - Laura Collins

In this column just a few weeks ago, the Yorkshire Evening Post pledged to you, our readers, that it would be our mission to look at how we can truly champion our city.

Leeds is home to many seemingly ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary things on a daily basis.

And there is no finer example than the 12-year-old teenager who first walked into the local gym at Burmantofts in Leeds, when there were no other girls to welcome her.

That girl had a dream and through her sheer hard work and determination she became one of Britain’s most recognisable faces.

Nicola Adams was quickly marked has having talent as she entered the ring for the very first time and the kid from Ebor Gardens set her sights on becoming an Olympic champion.

15 years later, she revelled in the joy of winning that gold medal at her homecoming back to Leeds in 2012.

As Nicola’s local title we’ve obviously followed her career very closely.

We’ve been with her every single step of the way of her meteoric rise to fame.

From the very early days in that east Leeds gym through to watching her beaming smile when she stepped on the Olympic podium to cement her place in the history books.

The city of Leeds puffed its chest out with pride as we saw our Nicola break gender stereotypes to carve out a legacy which inspired a new wave of female boxing talent.

And last week the lass from Leeds trusted her hometown newspaper to break the world exclusive that she was about to retire from the sport she has dedicated so much of her life to.

The people of Leeds, and the YEP, have championed her from the very start and supported her every single step of the way.

That is the real beauty and power of local journalism.

Since 1890 this very title has been deeply embedded within the communities we serve. And as the local trusted news organisation there is a real sense of duty and responsibility to reflect the lives of those who live in our city.

We want you to feel connected, to know what is going on in your city, to hold people in power to account and to be a firm cheerleader for the people who live on our doorsteps.

That is why the YEP is today using its voice to speak out about the issues the city faces as many politicians will no doubt be gearing up to visit Leeds in the coming weeks as the campaign trail hots up ahead of the General Election.

We know better than anyone exactly what issues affect you, our readers, and that is why we are using our voice to shout loudly and ensure our city gets its fair share of the pie.

It is only through taking a leaf out of Nicola’s book that we can use that inspiration to make a difference and create a noise that ensures Leeds continues to dream big.