Aoife O'Rourke three years and a lifetime removed from Tokyo

“We all just treat it as we would and go about it as we would preparing for any other competition, World Championships, Europeans… Having spectators and the crowd and the cheering of the Irish while you're boxing will definitely be a huge motivator.”

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE: Aoife O'Rourke during the Team Ireland Paris 2024 boxing team announcement. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.**

It’s no convenient reliance on hindsight to say that the decision against bringing Rhasidat Adeleke to the Tokyo Games three years ago was utterly short-sighted. It was met at the time by a wide dropping of jaws and a general bemusement.

Adeleke was only 18 at the time but her star, though more distant at the time than here now, was already being picked up by anyone with the type of cheap telescope you could buy in a supermarket’s middle aisle.