Aylesbury Paralympic medalist meets King Charles on 'surreal' day at Buckingham Palace

Olivia Newman-Baronius, 17, brought home a Gold medal as part of a successful medley team and claimed bronze in the 100m backstroke.

She is a former student of the Grange School, and has become a household name in disability sport just one year after taking up Para sports. Olivia competes in the S14 category, World Para Swimming classifies this as for individuals who have an intellectual impairment, which typically leads to the athletes having difficulties with regards to pattern recognition, sequencing, and memory, or having a slower reaction time, which impact on sport performance in general.

To cap an incredible year, Olivia along with her mum, Emma, were invited to Buckingham Palace alongside Team GB’s other Olympics and Paralympics medalists in France.

Since Thursday’s special gathering (7 November), the pair have been marvelling at how by virtue of being on the end of the row of swimmers the King met, Olivia has been included in the main photo used by national media outlets covering the event.

Emma said: “You turn on BBC One and the first thing you see is ‘oh, look it’s Olivia on tv!’ I asked Olivia what did he say and she said: ‘I can’t really remember’. I think her mind just went blank.

"It was a really nice reception. It was just nice to see people again that she hasn’t seen since Paris. It was just a bit of a daydream. It wasn’t until Friday afternoon that we were a bit like ‘oh we were at Buckingham Palace yesterday!’”

As well as the bringing home two medals, Olivia also swam a world record-equalling time in the 100m Butterfly. That record has since been surpassed by Poppy Maskill, who set a new marker at the Paralympics this summer.

But Olivia’s excellent first year as a professional swimmer did not stop their, she qualified for four further individual finals at the games, finishing fourth twice, as well as finishing 6th and 8th in the others.

Previously the Newman-Baronius family have talked at length about Olivia’s struggles with sepsis. She spent days in hospital after catching the life-threatening condition. Despite the serious illness, Olivia battled back to reach the pantheon of her sport, it took her almost two years to return to full fitness.

One remark that could land the talented teenager in trouble, was telling BBC Three Counties Radio that her mum took home a royal napkin from the famous household. Although, Emma is quick to point out she was far from the only one to take home a paper memento.

Emma added: “Going to Buckingham Palace is like an award for what she’s achieved. She’s only been a Para athlete since March this year. She’s had to work super, super hard over six months to then become a Paralympian and go to Paris. Then to win medals is just amazing. Then to go back is quite nice it’s not like it’s just finished, you’re still able to celebrate. I think for Olivia it’s an opportunity to give back by doing Children in Need and going into schools. It’s nice that people are still celebrating her success.”