British swimmer Tom Dean has revealed he will follow in the footsteps of teammate Adam Peaty after confirming he has signed up for Strictly Come Dancing.
Dean, 24, made the announcement after reaching the final of the men’s 200 metres individual medley on Thursday night.
The three-time Olympic champion intends to seek out the wisdom of his Team GB teammate, Peaty, who finished ninth on the BBC show in 2021, alongside professional dancer Katya Jones.
He said: “Naturally you want to take a break after you’ve had a full Olympic cycle and the opportunity arose.
“I thought it would be really exciting to try something a bit different.
“I’ll be doing that and straight back into training after it. It’s something to look forward to.”
He continued: “I’ve not seen (Adam) yet. He did brilliantly on it so I’ll be getting a few tips from him, for sure.”
Dean is the first contestant to announce they will be appearing on the 2024 edition of the show, when it returns in the autumn.
While Dean is one of the best swimmers the UK has produced, he admitted he is less assured of himself on dry land.
He added: “I don’t do too well out of water in gravity sports.
“I’m throwing myself into it and I know what a hard day’s training is like so I’m looking forward to it. I guess we’ll find out.
“It’s something to look forward to and once I finish this, back home, relax a bit with the family and then we crack on end of August time. It’s exciting.”
Dean won the men’s 200m freestyle title at Tokyo 2020 and, earlier this week, the 24-year-old from Bath, plus James Guy, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott made history in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay final.
In winning gold, they became the first swimming team ever to defend an Olympic relay title with the same quartet.
Dean’s announcement comes amid a storm of controversy over the treatment of contestants on the BBC show.
The results of an investigation, launched by the BBC following allegations made about Giovanni Pernice by former participant Amanda Abbington, will reportedly be published this week.
The 33-year-old Italian professional dancer has rejected allegations of “threatening or abusive behaviour” made by Sherlock actress Abbington, who was partnered with him in 2023 before he left the show.
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