Tom Dean is a competitive swimmer who represents Great Britain internationally. Dean is the 2020 Olympic champion in the 200 free and 4×200 free relay and swam for Team GB at the European championships and Jr European championships.
2021 European Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
Dean had a busy schedule in Budapest, winning 6 medals in total. This included gold as a part of the 400 and 800 mixed free relays and 400 medley relay, silver in the 400 and 800 free relays, and bronze individually in the 200 free (1:45.34).
202o Olympic Games
Dean started his first Olympics off strong, swimming a 1:45.24 in the prelims to seed himself 3rd heading into the semi-finals. In semis, he moved through as 4th seed into the final. In the final, Dean swam a strategic race, using his back half to propel himself to victory in 1:44.22, a new British record and the young stars first Olympic medal.
Dean was back in the 4×200 free relay, anchoring Britain in the prelims in a calm 1:46, easily moving them through as the top seed for finals. In finals, Dean led off in 1:45.72, helping Britain to its first Olympic title in this event since 1904.
2022 World Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
Dean started his meet off strong in the 4×100 free relay on night 1, anchoring Britain’s relay in 46.95 to help them place 4th in a new British record.
In the 200 free, Dean moved onto the final and swam a gutsy race on night 3, going out in under 50 at the 100 and paying for it at the end of the race. However, he held on to win bronze, touching 3rd in 1:44.98 behind teenagers David Popovici and Hwang Sunwoo.
2022 Commonwealth Games (Birmingham, United Kingdom)
At his first home Comm Games, Dean walked away with a huge medal haul, earning 6 silver and a gold. Dean touched 2nd individually in the 100 free, 200 free and 200 IM, and earned 2nd as a part of Team England’s 400 free, 800 free, and mixed 400 free relays. On the last day of competition, Dean anchored England’s 400 medley relay to gold, making it the only non-Australian relay to win at the Games.
2022 Short Course World Championships (Melbourne, Australia)
In Melbourne, Dean continued his podium streak in the 200 free, earning another bronze once again behind Popovici and Hwang Sunwoo.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
Dean swam a relaxed 1:46.02 through the 200 free prelims and another slightly less relaxed 1:45.29 in semis for 4th into the final. In the final, it was Popovici out fast in 50.18 while Dean sat back in 5th with a 51.04. Dean held 5th through the 150 but made his move with a field-leading 26.42 last 50 to vault himself past Popovici and Hwang Sunwoo to 2nd behind his fellow Brit Matt Richards. Dean was 1:44.32 to Richards’s 1:44.30.
In the 200 IM, Dean was controlled through the 150 in prelims but ripped home in 27.84 for a 1:58.20, good for 6th. In Semis, he was 7th in a 1:57.18, ripping home in 27.52. In the final, Dean was in a big hole at the 100 as he was out in 8th: .61 back of 7th, and much further from a medal. He was quick on the breast with a 33.33 but was still 7th at the 150. As he did in prelims and semis, he ripped home on free with an absurd 27.12 to beat out the next fastest splitter, Duncan Scott, by exactly a second. He flew past 4 world-class IMers to touch in 3rd with a 1:56.07 PB. He went 2-3 with his countryman Scott.
Dean also took on relay duties. In the 800 free relay, Dean anchored the Brits to gold with a super 1:43.84 split, the fastest in the field. He was 47.93 on the prelims of the mixed 400 free relay and anchored the 400 medley relay in the heats with a 48.36. The finals squad of the mixed 400 free relay took bronze.
