Nicola Adams became the first woman to secure an Olympic boxing title when she won gold at London 2012 and is also the reigning Olympic, World, Commonwealth Games and European champion at flyweight.

Asked by GQ magazine about whether she encounters prejudice in the sport, the British boxer (who is bisexual) said:

Racism, yes. Sexism, yes, in boxing: people saying women shouldn’t box. I’ve never come across homophobia.

The racism was more when I was younger, in primary school, and it’s about kids not understanding. I used to struggle with being called black. I said, ‘No, look at me, I’m brown’.

My mother’s side is quite mixed. She’s mixed race, my uncles and my auntie have white partners, my stepdad is white. I was always used to seeing white and black round the table. I never understood why people would be racist.”

Adams says she realised she was bisexual aged 15, and has gone on to top the list of Britain’s most influential LGBT people.

It was quite a scary thought for me at the time. You never know how the family is going to react, so I was nervous.

Mum was in the kitchen washing up and I was like, ‘I’ve got something to tell you’. I was so nervous, I was really sweating.

She said ‘What’s wrong?’ and I was just like ‘I’m bisexual’ and she said ‘OK… put the kettle on’.”

This year in Rio Adams successfully defended her gold medal, but said her greatest regret was never meeting her hero, Muhammad Ali, who died in June.

I would loved to have met him and said, ‘You are the reason I wanted to become an Olympic champion too’.

He will always be known, he’ll always be there, the greatest who ever lived.

Nobody will ever forget him.”

Read the full interview in the December issue of GQ, on sale Monday.

Out boxer, Nicola Adams has won a unanimous points decision to beat France’s Sarah Ourahmoune, and become Britain’s first gold boxing medal in Rio.

Adams told the BBC.

The gold rush continues. I’m now officially the most accomplished amateur boxer Great Britain has ever had. I can’t believe it.”

Adams, from Leeds, has won Olympic, European and Commonwealth golds and now becomes the first Briton to defend her Olympic crown since middleweight Harry Mallin in 1924.

She started strongly against the 15th-ranked Ourahmoune, winning the first of four two-minute rounds on all three judges’ scorecard.

She improved further in the second, again winning across the board after pinning back her opponent with speed and accuracy.

In past interviews, Adams has talked openly about her sexuality — and the fact it has never been an issue for her in her sport or personal life.

One label that has been attached to me is “bisexual”, although I would rather be just a person and not be categorised. …

I have never tried to hide my sexuality, but I have never spoken about it before in the press, either, because I didn’t want it to overshadow everything else. It is an important aspect of who I am, but it doesn’t define me.

I worried about how everyone would react, so I used to say I was single, rather than say I was with a girl. I felt like I was lying all the time. I didn’t like living like that so, in the end, I thought, ‘Well, this is who I am. It’s not as if I can stop it.”

Athletes have traditionally feared coming out, but Adams, who was named the most influential LGBT individual in Britain by The Independent in 2012, said she never tried to hide it.

The most important thing is to be honest about yourself. Secrets weigh heavy and it’s when you try to keep everything to yourself that it becomes a burden. You waste energy agonising when you could be living your life and realising your dreams.’

Adams has dominated her sport since the London Olympics in 2012, and in May secured the last major title to elude her, when she was crowned world flyweight champion.

She is once again the reigning Olympic, world, Commonwealth and European Games champion, having also won European and EU golds.