Team GB swimmer Tom Dean has set his sights on winning five medals at next summer’s Paris Olympics.
Now he wants to beat the Team GB record of four medals won by a single British athlete at a Games, set by fellow swimmer Duncan Scott in Tokyo.
“I sat down with my coach and we said five medals is on the cards,” Dean told BBC South Today.
“We want to do it, we’re able to do it and it would be the most ever from a Team GB athlete at one Games, which is super exciting and the opportunity to write my name in the record books.
“It’s a bit scary but really cool at the same time.”
Dean ‘not afraid’ of target
BBC video of Dean’s family and friends wildly celebrating one of his gold medals from Japan in the garden at his family home went viral, catapulting the 23-year-old from Maidenhead to international fame.
Now he intends to give any Paris 2024 watch parties more to shout about, targeting the two events in which he won Tokyo gold as well as the 200m individual medley, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.
Since winning double gold in Japan, Dean has certainly become accustomed to regular success, winning seven more medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and four at last year’s World Championships.
“I know what training I’m capable of and fortunately I’m a multi-eventer,” said Dean. “We’ve been presented with this opportunity and I want to grab it with both hands and give it my best shot and see what we can produce in Paris.
“I’m not afraid of saying this is what I’m going to go for. If it doesn’t pan out, that’s the nature of sport. But we will have given it our best shot and hopefully will come away with a few medals.”
‘Logic’ and ‘mental strength’ key to success
In the short term, Dean insists he is focused on his training and planning for race week, rather than indulging in any thoughts of claiming a unique place in British sporting history.
“It’s dangerous for an athlete to start thinking about legacy too early on,” he said. “I want to put everything in place to give myself the best chance to think about it, but I don’t want to think about the end product just yet.
“The best way to deal with it is to think about it purely in a logical way, strip emotion out of it, just be really mentally strong and go into it with the best plan and the best training you can possibly do.
“I never want to come across as too cocky or arrogant but for me it’s a confidence thing, because I know if I do the hard training I can put in good performances on the day, so I’m not afraid of saying this is what I want to do.
“I want everyone to get behind Team GB and I really want to go and make Olympic history.
‘I might have a few coffees the night before’
Setting a target of medalling in five events brings its own logistical and physical challenges, and Dean says the key is leaving no stone unturned in training, combined with meticulous planning.
“When you go for more events you have to be more efficient with your time, and to designate more time to different strokes, with more technical aspects to work on,” he said.
“There are so many more variables to work on, like the relays.
“Then when you get to the competition schedule it’s not just five races, it’s heats, semis and finals for all the individuals, [plus] heats and finals for the relays. So it’s over 10 races in seven days, and you have to get up for every single one of them.
“The tough bit – and I did it at the World Championships – is on day six or seven when I’ve raced nine or 10 times and I’m stepping on the blocks next to someone in their first or second race, who is completely fresh.
“You have to get up for it. I might have a few coffees the night before to get up for it. [But] then you’re not sleeping well, and the nerves, so you have to strip emotion out of it and tell yourself you’re not tired and are ready to go again.
“The hardest bit is all the things that could go wrong in race week. The five medals is possible but will take one hell of an effort, and for the stars to align, but I will give it my best shot.”
Garden party goes viral
The scenes in Dean’s garden as he won his first gold medal in Tokyo went viral around the world, and he says he now has a freeze-frame from the video hung on the wall of his home as a reminder.
He was unaware that his family, neighbours, close friends from childhood and swimming pals were all watching his exploits together, until a flatmate in the Olympic village mentioned the video’s popularity online.
“I thought it would just be a few around the TV but it was literally everyone I know, in the garden,” said Dean.
“I watched it and it was such an overwhelming emotion because it was all the people you love and they’re going nuts because you’ve just won this race by a fraction of a second.
“I’ve got in my house a still of the exact moment that I won, and you can literally spot everyone’s different emotions. People are happy, people are crying, it’s really special and it gets me emotional just talking about it.
“It’s forever immortalised. We can always go back and watch this video and remember how special that summer was.
“Now I want to put on a good show for my family and friends back home and have a few more watch parties, so I need to train hard for it.”
Listen to 5 Live Sport on Thursday, 30 November at 20:00 GMT as Tom Dean discusses his career so far, or listen to the full interview in a special All About Tom Dean podcast that you can download from BBC Sounds from Thursday evening.
