Daina Moorehouse wants to have her summer plans sorted out early

Daina Moorehouse wants to have her summer plans sorted out early.

The Wicklow flyweight has her sights set on the Paris 2024 Olympics and wants to book her ticket to the next Olympiad as soon as February.

The Enniskerry BC boxer is hopeful the fact she retained her 50kg National Elite crown at the National Stadium late last month will see her selected to represent Ireland in the next Olympic qualifiers scheduled for 29 February – 12 March. It won’t be a case of last chance saloon at the Busto Arsizio, Italy-hosted World Qualifier as there will be a third and final qualifier in Thailand in late May, but the four time Elite Champion doesn’t want to think that far ahead hoping to get the job done in the spring.

“The next qualifiers are in February,” she tells Irish-boxing.com. “They are the ones I’m hoping to go to. I’ve won my second Elite title, so hopefully I’ll be picked for February. There is one after that but we want to be qualified by then.”

Having won back-to-back Elite crowns the former underage starlet is favourite to be chosen for the qualifiers, particularly as she defeated closest rivals – and indeed close friends – Cathlin Fryers and Shannon Sweeney in the last two Elite flyweight finals.

“It was a great fight,” she says of her final win over Mayo’s Sweeney. “We’ve both improved so much. She beat Cathlin Fryers [in the semi-final], what an opponent to beat, so I knew this fight was going to be tough. Thank God I got through it and I hope now to go to the Olympic Qualifiers in Febraury.”