Nicola Adams follows in Harry Mallin's footsteps by retaining Olympic title

20 August 2016 06:23

Nicola Adams has become the first British boxer to retain an Olympic title since Harry Mallin in 1924.

Mallin, a middleweight from Shoreditch, won his first Olympic title in 1920 at the age of 28, and repeated the feat four years later.

Mallin need nine bouts to complete his double-winning feat, and his path into history was not without controversy.

In his second bout in 1920, his opponent, American Samuel Lagonia, was disqualified for persistent holding, a decision which so enraged the Americans they threatened to withdraw their entire team from the Games.

And in his 1924 bout with Roger Brousse, Mallin initially dropped the decision, only for it to be reversed when he pointed out that the Frenchman had persistently bitten him during the contest.

MALLIN GOLD 1920

Rd 1: Joseph Cranston (US) pts

Rd 2: Samuel Lagonia (US) disq

Semi: Moe Herscovitch (Can) pts

Final: Georges Prud'Homme (Can) pts

MALLIN GOLD 1924

Rd 1: Trygve Stokstad (Nor) pts

Rd 2: Erich Siebert (Swi) rsc2

Rd 3: Roger Brousse (Fra) disq

Semi: Joseph Becken (Bel) pts

Final: John Elliott (GB) pts

ADAMS GOLD 2012

Rd 1: Stoyka Petrova (Bul) pts

Semi: Mary Kom (Ind) pts

Final: Ren Cancan (Chn) pts

ADAMS GOLD 2016

Rd 1: Tetyana Kob (Ukr) pts

Semi: Ren Cancan (Chn) pts

Final: Sarah Ourahmoune (Fra) pts

Source: PA