Tom Dean: double Olympic gold medallist's raw talent

Tom Dean (right) deferred his mechanical engineering studies to concentrate fully on his training for the games in Tokyo

Double gold medal-winning swimmer Tom Dean always had the "unbelievable raw talent" needed to reach the top, a former teammate has said.

The 21-year-old University of Bath student followed-up his 200m freestyle win on Tuesday with a team gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay 24 hours later.

His success comes after a difficult year in which his training was interrupted when he twice caught Covid.

Ex-teammate Siobhan-Marie O'Connor said she knew he had what it takes to win.

"He has everything. All the ingredients to make a fantastic swimmer," said Ms O'Connor, who won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics.

"I saw him swim...I thought one day he's going to be able to stand on top of that Olympic podium."

Team Bath swimmers Matt Richards, James Guy, Calum Jarvis and Tom Dean were part of the gold medal-winning relay squad

Dean, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, contracted coronavirus in September and January, which left him unable to "walk up the stairs without coughing and wheezing".

But he put that behind him to set a British record on the way to winning the individual 200m event, before securing gold in the relay alongside Duncan Scott and fellow University of Bath students James Guy and Matt Richards.

Squad member Calum Jarvis, also a Bath student, did not race in the final but competed in the qualification heats on Tuesday.

"I can't even put it into words," said Dean. "I can't thank these boys enough from the bottom of my heart, it was unreal."

Mark Skimming, head of swimming at the University of Bath said he was "over the moon".

"I was jumping about. I was trying not to make noise and keep the rest of the family asleep but it was brilliant. I was cheering Tom on as loudly as I could."

Tom Dean (right) and Duncan Scott won gold and silver individually before teaming-up to win the relay event

Amy Williams, who won a gold medal in skeleton at the Winter Olympics in 2010, also attended the University of Bath and said she got emotional watching the scenes in Tokyo.

"When the medal is put around your neck, it is a moment that will change your life forever," she added.

The university's vice-president (student experience), Cassie Wilson, said the success would lift spirits after a challenging year.