Dean is ready to push for glory again after being edged out of title defence

BEING asked to drape his Olympic gold medal over the neck of a Jack Russell by an exuberant owner is one of the more surreal moments Tom Dean faced after the last Games.

- Matt Majendie

By his reckoning, it was the only time he refused a request in the post-Olympic haze of Tokyo where he went from a virtual nobody to being stopped wherever he went on his return as a two-time champion.

The recognition was further boosted by chaotic but eye-catching family and friend celebrations in Maidenhead that were played out on the BBC.

Dean seemed to take it all in his stride at a Games where Covid twice nearly derailed his ambitions of competing there, going on to win 200m freestyle gold and another in the team relay.

“I remember at one point my coach said that if I even make it to the start line, ‘I’ll eat my hat’,” he said of a tumultuous lead-in.

The build-up to Paris has not quite had the same perils, although he will not defend his individual title, having missed out to team-mates Duncan Scott and Matt Richards at the Olympic trials. But he has qualified for the 200m individual medley and will be a key facet in the relay once more.