Triple Olympic gold medallist Tom Dean joins University of Stirling swim programme

Triple Olympic gold medallist Tom Dean MBE has joined the coveted high-performance swim programme at the University of Stirling, Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence.

The 25-year-old – England’s most decorated athlete at a single Commonwealth Games – joins the University just months after fellow Olympic champion Freya Anderson MBE made the move to Stirling. Tom arrived on campus earlier this week, alongside World Junior champion Dean Fearn, who joins the University from Aberdeen Dolphin Swimming Club.

The high-profile additions further strengthen the celebrated Stirling stable – led by Head Performance Coach Ben Higson and High-Performance Coach Bradley Hay – whose athletes include Olympic champions Duncan Scott OBE and Jack McMillan.

Tom, who joins from Bath Performance Centre, said: “I’m really excited to join the programme here in Stirling – there’s a great calibre of athletes here and some very close friends of mine as well.

“I had spent seven years at Bath, and I enjoyed working with coach Dave McNulty, who led me to three Olympic gold medals and multiple World and Commonwealth medals too. But, where I am in terms of my career and personal life, I needed a change. I know Duncan [Scott] and Ben [Higson] really well, and I know a lot of the team too – so Stirling was a logical choice.

“Momentum attracts athletes, but also coaches and personalities do too. You just have to look at the medal board above the pool here, showing all the athletes from over the years – the number of medals continues to grow and grow. That’s testament to the programme here.”

Medals

Tom, from London, specialises in freestyle and has three Olympic gold medals to his name – with wins in the 200m Freestyle and 4x200m Freestyle at Tokyo 2021, and the same relay event at Paris 2024.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, he became Team England’s most decorated athlete at a single edition of the event, taking a total of one gold and six silver medals. Notably, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours List in recognition of his services to swimming.

Tom believes his move north of the Border will support his ambitions for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, and he is particularly looking forward to linking up with friend, teammate and at times rival, Duncan Scott – Scotland’s most decorated Olympic and Commonwealth athlete of all time.

“Duncan and I are such close friends, but also such close competitors. We have a relationship where there is a degree of healthy competitiveness – and I think that’s rare. We work well together – we’ve shown that when we’ve travelled to training camps together, been shoulder to shoulder in the relay, winning at the Olympics, and when we’ve gone head-to-head in individual events as well.

“First and foremost, he’s a great friend of mine and that will always come before everything else – that’s why I know we’ll have a good working relationship over the next four years.”

He added: “I’m really excited about being part of this new group, with a new coach, and being part of a centre that has great momentum behind it. LA 2028 is the ultimate goal – I want to go there and, like everyone else, add more medals to my CV. Of course, we also have the Commonwealth Games just 10 months away and that’s my priority for this season.”

Dean Fearn - World Junior Champion in Men's 50m Butterfly - is excited to be part of the programme.

Dean Fearn, from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, has been making waves in the pool throughout his teens. Last year, he started training at the University of Stirling on a part-time basis, while continuing to swim with Aberdeen Dolphins. He has now moved to the University permanently and next year plans to pursue a degree, balancing academic studies with his sporting ambitions.

The 17-year-old butterfly and backstroke specialist – who is World Junior champion in the Men’s 50m Butterfly – said: “I’m really excited to be here. After spending the last eight years of my life swimming in Aberdeen, I think it’s time for a change and to really step it up a notch.

“Having been training here over the past year, I’ve seen progress in myself and enjoyed it. That was the biggest thing – a happy swimmer makes a fast swimmer. Stirling is right for me and the environment is best for me to develop. Hopefully I can get the best out of it.”