Tom Dean on his Stirling switch and golden Glasgow goals
“I really struggle with the accent,” reveals English swimmer and new Stirling resident Tom Dean, with a grin. He then shakes his head, before admitting, “when I'm in a cafe and trying to order I get asked questions and I've got to ask to hear them to repeat, twice.”
In the water there is little the Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion is yet to master, but while there have a been a few ‘cultural challenges’ since he swapped Bath for Stirling late last year, Dean insists he is “getting better’ adapting to his new surroundings.
“I've been in southern England my whole life, so it's a bit different, but I'm loving the environment up here and I have friends in Edinburgh, as well as Glasgow,” says Dean.
“Also, I just have to look out of the window at the great landscapes; I’m getting into my hiking and got myself a pair of boots so that outdoor lifestyle is calling and it’s a really exciting time.”
Dean enjoyed a stunning major-international breakthrough at the Tokyo Olympic Gamers, in 2021, where he claimed gold medals in the 200m Freestyle and 4x200m Freestyle relay events.
The former of those was attained after edging out ‘frenemy’ and new Stirling training partner Duncan Scott, by just 0.04 seconds.
The Scottish swimmer would gain revenge 12 months later by claiming gold ahead the Englishman in both the 200m Freestyle and 200m Individual Medley disciplines at Birmingham 2022.
However, Dean would take satisfaction from achieving a record medal-haul for an athlete from the home nations at a single edition of the Commonwealth Games, with seven honours. That beat the previous best mark of six, held jointly by Scott (2018), Adam Peaty (2018) and James Guy (2018), as well as Karen Pickering (1998).
Dean and Scott would combine to help Team GB successfully defend their 4x200m Freestyle relay title at Paris 2024, but after ending the Olympic Games without an individual honour and struggling in 2025, Dean decided he needed to take action.
“I had seven incredible years in Bath with (coach) Dave McNulty and he was great, but it was just a point in my career where I felt a change of environment, a change of teammates would give me that extra boost,” he reveals.
“I have Duncan (Scott) and Jack (McMillan) who are so strong, particularly in my best event, the 200m Freestyle and also another really good coach in Ben Higson, which is awesome.”
Dean admits the approach to training and philosophy at the High Performance Swimming Programme in Stirling is “different” to that he experienced in Bath, but believes the approach in Scotland will be a “better fit” for his age and hopefully enhance his “longevity in the sport.”
“I've been on programme for eight years and we've always collected data, but I think now the different entities within the National Centre are talking to each other more,” says Dean.
“For example, my physio will talk to my nutritionist, who will talk to my physiologist and bio-mechanist, so nothing is slipping through the net and nothing is left to guesswork anymore.
“It’s all about how do we squeeze an extra one percent out, because it’s not good enough to just whack on our goggles, swim 10,000m and expect to see the results.
Dean continues; “I'm 25 now, but come the next Olympics I'll be 28 and then for the next Commonwealth Games I'll be 30, which for swimming is on the slightly older side, but if you look at Duncan (Scott), he’s 28 and he's still smashing out the best times he's ever done.
“I think that's a testament to the to the programme here.”
Glasgow holds a “really special place” in Dean’s heart with the swimmer making his senior international debut for Great Britain at the 2018 European Championships, which were held at Tollcross.
Subject to selection, he is looking forward to returning to the city, where he aims to add to his seven Commonwealth Games honours, this summer.
“I was a scrappy, young 17–18-year-old who made it onto the 4x200m Freestyle relay with three of the greatest swimmers Britain has ever had in Calum Jarvis, James Guy and Duncan Scott,” he recalls with a smile.
“I was kind of awestruck by these guys and we went on to win the gold, so Glasgow essentially kick-started my international career and it will be great to go back there.”
Dean is coy when pressed about how many events – and medals – he could target at Glasgow 2026, but while he suggests it could be a similar number to Birmingham 2022, the swimmer is aware that he will face strong opponents, who will be largely racing for rival home nations.
“Jack (McMillan) is Northern Irish, Duncan (Scott) is Scottish, you have Matt (Richards) who’s Welsh, then there’s Jimmy (James Guy) and myself who are English and I really love it, because we’re all fighting for the same goal,” he says.
“It's a special sense of pride representing GB, but I think it's unique when you represent your home nation as well and I’m a proud Englishman, just as Duncan is a very proud Scot.
“We're all trying to race as best as we possibly can and that's kind of one of the reasons why I love the Commonwealth Games so much.”
Dean continues; “Seven medals in 2022 was incredibly special and I know what it now takes to pursue that with so many races back-to-back. Obviously, we still have trials and I don’t want to jinx it, but I feel like I’m in good nick and I think I’ll be going in confident.”
The three-time Olympic champion will continue his build up to Glasgow 2026 at the Edinburgh Swimming International, from 13-15 March, before racing at the Aquatics GB Championships, 14-19 April, where he aims to confirm his place in England’s Commonwealth Games squad.
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