Lisa O’Rourke plans to follow inspirational sisters’ footsteps all the way to Paris

Lisa O’Rourke heralded her sister Aoife as a massive inspiration after her big Irish title win at the National Stadium earlier this month.

The younger of the boxing sisters won a repeat of the National Elite Championship final to secure U22 National honours.

The win saw the Olympic BC Galway fighter follow in her sister’s footsteps – and she now wants to continue to follow the trail blazed by her sibling all the way to Paris and the Olympics.

The young talent, who went to Tokyo as a sparring partner for Aoife, told Irish-boxing.com: “Aoife is a huge inspiration and great to have by my side. she’s been there since day one. To go across the plane with her was unbelievable and definitely is a big eye-opener for the future. 2024 is definitely on the cards.”

You get the feeling standing between O’Rourke and a smooth journey to Paris will be one Evelyn Igharo.

The talented Igharo defeated the Roscommon fighter in the Elite decider and Westerner was delighted to avenge the reverse this month.

It’s most likely they will meet again in high-stakes clashes over the next two years.

“I’m delighted to get the win,” O’Rourke said.

“Evelyn’s a very good and talented boxer, she gave it her all and I’m just happy I came out on top. I met her in the Elites and she got me that time.”