UK teen who trained on homemade climbing wall is now gearing up for he Olympics

A teenager who trained on a homemade climbing wall in her back garden during lockdown could be on her way to the Olympics after becoming the youngest in the Team GB squad. 

Erin McNeice, 17, could be heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics after joining the UK's climbing squad.

The young athlete began climbing at the age of five, following in her dad's footsteps after he developed a passion for the sport at University.

Mrs McNeice, who is only months away from sitting her A-levels, specialises in bouldering and rock climbing.

She said: "I got into it when my dad brought me to a climbing gym, I was very small and very light, so I could impress people, I liked it because I got attention.

"Being chosen for Team GB is still surreal, even though I work so hard for it, it doesn't feel real.

"But it's something that I've worked for over the past five or six years, and dreamed about pretty much every day so I'm very happy."

The young athlete came second at the National Competition in 2018 and has been climbing up the ranks ever since.

Following trials in Sheffield earlier this year, Erin received an email from Tom Greenall, head coach at GB Climbing, offering her a place on the team.

She said: "I actually dropped my phone on the floor with excitement.

"I rang mum straight away but couldn’t understand what she was saying as she wasn’t particularly coherent amongst the screams of joy.”

The year 13 student has a slightly downsized climbing wall at the bottom of her garden where she perfected her moves during lockdown.

She said: "It is about 6ft 5in in height.

"We built it before lockdown but we made it a lot bigger during the pandemic so I trained on that most days."

In preparation for the 2024 games in Paris, Ms McNeice will have to dedicate all of her spare time to training.

She could also find herself travelling to a different country every couple of weeks for competitions.

Already, there is a high chance she will be attending the Youth World Championships in Texas this year.

Ms McNeice, from Sittingbourne in Kent, said: "I'm in my final year of A levels and train six days a week, on the wall and in the gym with one day a week active recovery.