Great Britain's Nicola Adams celebrates with her Olympic gold medal

Haringey Police’s Nicola Adams has made history by becoming the first woman ever to win an Olympic boxing gold medal.

Adams has always been a trailblazer in women’s boxing, having been the first woman ever to fight for England, and the first to win a medal at a major championship after taking silver at the European Championships in 2007.

Today the 29-year-old, who represents Haringey Police Boxing Club in Tottenham, added another significant entry into the history books after destroying the World No1, Ren CanCan.

Adams had faced CanCan on three previous occasions and had been beaten in two of them – both in the finals of the World Championships.

However, she came out on top in the biggest contest of all at London 2012 – and in emphatic style as she knocked CanCan down in the second round en route to a comprehensive 16-7 victory.

This is the first time that women have been allowed to box at the Olympics and, despite the pressure of the occasion, Adams entered the ring for the final with her customary grin – and she was on the front foot from the start, taking a 4-2 lead after the first of the four-minute rounds.

With the 10,000-capacity crowd chanting her name, she unleashed a barrage of punches at the start of the second round and went on to knock CanCan to the canvas.

The Chinese fighter got up and continued, but Adams took a 9-4 lead into the fourth and final round and never let up, going on to beat the world champion by a staggering nine points.

“It’s a dream come true, I’ve just wanted this all my life,” said Adams. “I’m finally here, with all of this support. I just want to thank all of the supporters here and all of the supporters back home. I’m so happy and overwhelmed.

“I’m absolutely over the moon. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 12 years old and I’ve got a gold for Great Britain. This is what I’ve been working for. I’m sure the celebrations will go on for several days – but right now I just want to go to Nando’s!”

Haringey Police’s founder and coach, Gerry Willmott MBE said: “She’s got the gold she deserved today. She’s dedicated her life to it, she had a bad back injury a few years ago and she worked so hard to get through it.

“She’s a credit to women’s boxing, she’s a credit to herself and she’s a credit to Haringey Boxing Club.”