'It's what drives me': Ingledew setting the bar high as she chases her boxing dream

Those are the words Sophie Ingledew tells herself during the early wake-ups, or midway through a grueling training session, or when she's forced to say no to heading out with her friends for the night.

The young Mandurah boxer knows all about the necessary sacrifices that come with chasing a sporting dream, but she refuses to give in as she chases Olympic glory.

The 19-year-old star has made a name for herself on the Australian boxing scene in recent years, but to her she's simply reaping the rewards that blossom from a decade's worth of hard work.

Ingledew first stepped foot in the Erskine-based Moorey's Martial Arts as a nervous nine-year-old ready for her first karate lesson back in 2009.

She'd previously competed in other individual sports like athletics, swimming and surfing, but this would be her first taste of a martial art.

From that lesson, Ingledew never looked back.

She quickly achieved her junior black belt at the age of 13, but in an effort to "amp things up a little", she soon turned to Muay Thai.

"I loved Muay Thai," she said.

"It was something completely different to what I'd been doing at the time and it was a new challenge, so I really loved taking it up."

But after competing in four fights spread out over a year, Ingledew was left facing the reality that a lack of opponents was restricting her pursuit of the sport.

Her coach Jason Moore pointed her to boxing as a means to fill the gaps between Muay Thai bouts, with her first fight coming against a Victorian opponent undefeated through 10 fights.

Ingledew took care of business, and it wasn't long until she found herself on a national championships card where she won two bouts to be crowned the Australian champion.

"From there I knew boxing was what I was supposed to do," she said.

"It kind of just snowballed. I was piling up all these good results and I really enjoying myself, so I just kept doing it."

Now a much more experienced fighter, having competed at Australian, Oceania and Golden Gloves championships, Ingledew has her eyes fixed on the 2024 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

While recognising the challenging journey that lays ahead of her, the young star said it would be a dream come true to represent her country on the world's biggest sporting stage.

"I think about it all the time. It's what drives me," she said.

"I can't even explain what it would be like. Reaching the Olympics would make all the ups and downs, all the hard work, it would all be worth it."

Ingledew's quest to represent Australia continues when she takes to the ring at the National Youth Championships in October.