Elite climber Falconer chasing 2028 Olympic dream

Mary Falconer is your typical shy teenager, and clearly uncomfortable in front of a camera.

>But put her on a boulder wall, like the one we find ourselves on at Flashpoint Swansea, and the 15-year-old is transformed.

>Watching her confidently glide up the holds - and seemingly defy physics - it is hard to think this elite athlete was once what her father Richard describes as the "little girl who refused to go for a walk".

>And perhaps what is even more remarkable, Falconer only took up bouldering three years ago as a way to cope with the death of her mother Anca to a rare cancer.

>"It's helped me a lot mentally because you can put all your emotions into the wall and into your training," she said.

Olympic dreamFalconer, from Haverfordwest, now finds herself as one of the top youth climbers in the UK and boasts multiple national and regional podium finishes.

>She travels all over the UK and Europe following her passion, with the ultimate goal of competing at the 2028 Olympics, which she says "would be a dream come true".

>But Falconer, who was selected for the England squad during her first year of competition, wants to represent her mother's native Romania at the Games.

>"It would be great, I'd really love to do it," she said.

>"They [Romania's coaches] have been great, they've given me a lot of support so far and have taken me on quite quickly."

>Falconer has already been accepted by the Romanian team and will compete in two European climbing events this summer, alongside Romania's national championships later in the year.

Drive and dedication Falconer was first introduced to climbing at a wakeboarding park near Narberth.

>Her father, a keen wakeboarder himself, tried to get her on the water, but Falconer admits she did not like the cold and headed indoors to the bouldering gym.

>"I fell in love with it straight away," she said.

>"You can progress every day and it's really satisfying to see.

>"It's definitely taken a lot of hard work, lots of training in the gym and climbing almost every day."

>Such is Falconer's dedication, Richard built a gym in their home where it is not unusual for his daughter to be training until the early hours of the morning.

>While the banging of weights above his bedroom causes a few sleepless nights, Richard says "it's a privilege" to be in his situation.

>"It's a huge responsibility, a lot of work, but why would you not support this? She's doing amazing things," he said.

>Richard, who has worked in many sectors including the military, admits he has never seen a work ethic like it.

>"I've never once ever said 'you need to do this, or you should work harder at this', all of it is driven by herself," he said.

Anca Falconer was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer just days after giving birth to Mary in 2010 [BBC]Climbing with a purposeFalconer's mother Anca died when Mary was just seven years old, leaving Richard with the unenviable task of raising a grieving daughter.

>"We worked very hard at fixing the situation, reinventing us, our relationship, revisiting places we'd gone on holiday as a family, desensitising those situations, but there was always an element that couldn't be fixed," he said.

>"What sport gave her was a way of expressing and, in return, she got positive affirmation back from the people she was climbing with. It gave her something that she was the owner of, a responsibility.

>"So sports fixed the last 20% of Mary, gave her focus, gave her purpose, and put her on a trajectory that, who knows, the Olympics - the sky's the limit."

Family pride and celebrity statusFalconer, who has dual nationality, is very close with her Romanian grandmother and visits three to four times a year.

>"She's really the only family we have and to have Mary climb for Romania and give her grandmother and great grandmother that element of pride - they just live for her," said Richard.

>And her fanbase is not just limited to family, Falconer is often stopped at competitions and asked for selfies and autographs.

>"It always puts a smile on my face, it's definitely motivating to see young girls inspired," said Falconer, whose well-documented climbing journey has a staggering social media reach of over 1.7 million impressions every month.

>So it would seem the shy girl small town girl will have to get used to the cameras, and soon.

>More information, advice and help on coping with bereavement is available on BBC Action Line.