JAKARTA - Nicola Adams, Olympic boxing doubles champion, opened up about episodes of childhood violence by her father. He also shared how boxing had an impact on his life.
In the 90-minute documentary directed by Helena Coan, The Nicola Adams Story, Adams discusses her journey to Olympic success and the difficult times she had to go through.
"Boxing gave me courage and it made me think that if something happened again, I would be able to protect myself and my family," Adams explained.
"Boxing has also become my safe space because there are coaches I see every day. It feels like I have a second family and someone I can talk to. Once you get into the gym, you can put everything aside and be yourself."
Once Adams' mother and father separated, he explained that he was always ready to use the hammer to confront his mother's new partner, who was also too aggressive.
"(My mom's new partner) is pretty loud and aggressive too, and that's when I sleep with a hammer under my bed - just in case I need to help my mom," he said.
"I don't understand why, after all the abuse and everything we've suffered with my dad, it's happening again. I came back from school one day and this guy took a lot of furniture out of the house.
"My mom screamed and I grabbed a hammer from under the bed and said she had to leave the house. I'm going to use it. Luckily she left without me having to use the hammer."
Adams also explained how he threw bricks through the back window of another man's car because the man was violent towards his mother.
"It's a vicious circle," he said.
Despite his troubled childhood, Adams went on to win a gold medal at London 2012 before repeating the same success at Rio 2016. He later announced his retirement from boxing in 2019.
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