NICOLA ADAMS expects Savannah Marshall to challenge for a gold medal in Rio, and claims the Hartlepool middleweight is “right at her prime” as she prepares to tackle her second Olympics.

While Adams became a national hero when she claimed Britain’s first women’s boxing gold medal at London 2012, Marshall suffered a far more chastening experience as she lost in the first round.

The North-East fighter has successfully regrouped since then though, and was confirmed on Britain’s Olympic team last week following her bronze-medal winning feats at the recent World Olympic qualifier.

“I guess it was a bit of relief when Savannah made it because it was the last chance to qualify,” said Adams, who will join Marshall on the British squad in Rio. “It was pretty much all or nothing for her, but she did the job and got herself that Olympic place and that says a lot about what type of a competitor she is.

“She’s right at her prime now, and she’s definitely good enough to win gold. She’s qualified the hard way, like the rest of us have, so she’s definitely good enough to cope with anyone she comes up against. She’s fought them all before and done well.

“I think for Savannah, her main strengths are her power and her speed. When you combine those two, it’s very hard to cope with.”

With Chantelle Cameron having failed to qualify at lightweight, Adams and Marshall will be Britain’s only two female fighters at the Olympics.

The pair are close friends, having trained together for more than half-a-decade, and Adams was thrilled to see Marshall secure her Olympic spot with a series of impressive displays during the final qualifier in Azerbaijan.

“It’s nice to have us both there,” she said. “For a while, it looked like I might be the only female going, so it’s nice to have the two of us together. I was really happy when she qualified. I’ve known her for years now, and we always watch each other’s fights when we can. We’ve been training partners right through since London really, and even before that.

“We’ve gone on the journey since London together, and I’m really glad we’re going to be going together to Rio.”

NICOLA WILSON will not be competing in Rio after she was omitted from the British three-day eventing squad that was named yesterday.

Wilson, who is based at Morton-on-Swale, near Northallerton, was part of the British line-up that won a team silver medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.

However, she was forced to retire her Olympic horse, Opposition Buzz, and has been unable to scale the same heights with the youthful One Two Many.

Three-time Olympic medallist William Fox-Pitt will feature in the eventing team on Chilli Morning, and will be joined by Kitty King (Ceylor LAN), Izzy Taylor (Allercombe Ellie) and Gemma Tattersall (Chico Bella P or Quicklook V).