Teen aims for Paralympic medal after 'scary time'

A teenage swimmer who had "everything taken away from her" after contracting sepsis has said she is excited to be making her Paralympic debut in Paris.

Olivia Newman-Baronius, from Leighton Buzzard, in Bedfordshire, equalled the Women’s S14 100m Butterfly world record at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in London earlier this year.

During Covid, the 17-year-old had spent 10 days in hospital with sepsis. She lost all her muscle strength before being diagnosed with gastroparesis, a condition which partially paralyses the stomach.

She said it had been a "scary time", but competing at the Paralympics would be "very special".

Newman-Baronius, who has also won European titles, trains at Maxwell Swim Club in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

She said: "When I'm in the pool I feel calm because everything is quite quiet.

"It's something I'm good at doing and people are positive around it, rather than it being a negative, which is nice.

"A few years ago was quite a scary time in my life because I ended up in hospital."

During the pandemic, following surgery for a suspected appendicitis, Newman-Baronius became ill and was in hospital for 10 days.

She said: "I got very ill after the surgery and it happened to be sepsis and I couldn't eat or walk or really do anything."

She was later diagnosed with gastroparesis, a condition that causes food to pass through the stomach more slowly than it should.

"I struggle to eat three full meals a day, so instead I eat smaller meals more often, which makes it easier to get in the calories I need to swim."

Newman-Baronius said, after struggling at school, she was also diagnosed with autism last year.

Her mother, Emma Newman-Baronius, said: "It was extremely tough to watch her go through the pain. She's worked so hard to become a swimmer.

"She worked really, really hard up until Covid and it felt like during that time when she was really ill, everything was taken away from her.

"So to now see her achieve what she's achieving, as a family it just blows our minds."

Newman-Baronius said she is now "really excited" for the Paralympics, adding that getting a medal would be "very special".

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.