Tom Dean

Tom Dean is a British freestyle swimmer who became the first British swimmer in 113 years to win two individual and relay golds at a single Olympics, at Tokyo 2020.

The first British swimmer to win an individual Olympic freestyle gold since 1908, Tom Dean out-touched training partner Duncan Scott by four-hundredths of a second in the 200-meter freestyle at Tokyo 2020, then added a relay gold hours later to produce Britain's finest single day in an Olympic pool in over a century. He trained at the University of Bath National Centre under coach David McNulty while studying Mechanical Engineering at the university, deferring his studies to focus fully on Olympic preparation ahead of Tokyo. Dean announced himself on the world stage at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, becoming the first British swimmer since 1908 to win an individual freestyle Olympic gold when he out-touched training partner and compatriot Duncan Scott in the 200m freestyle final by four-hundredths of a second, producing Britain's first swimming gold-silver combination at an Olympics in over a century. He added a second gold hours later in the 4x200m freestyle relay, becoming the first British swimmer to win two golds at a single Games in 113 years — a performance made more remarkable by the fact he had contracted COVID-19 twice in the build-up to the Games. Dean built on his Tokyo breakthrough over the following seasons, winning a full set of individual and relay medals across World, European, and Commonwealth competition, including three bronzes at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest and a gold medal haul at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka he completed a career sweep of major titles by anchoring Britain's winning 4x200m freestyle relay alongside James Guy, Matt Richards, and Duncan Scott. He defended his Olympic relay title at Paris 2024, helping Britain's 4x200m freestyle quartet win gold again, and added a further world title in the same event at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. He was appointed MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to swimming.

Middle-distance freestyle specialist with strong medley background

Central figure in Britain's modern freestyle relay dominance alongside Duncan Scott, James Guy, and Matt Richards

• 3x Olympic gold (200m freestyle 2020, 4x200m freestyle 2020 & 2024)
• 2x World champion (4x200m freestyle relay)
• MBE for services to swimming