Tom Dean has become the first British man in 113 years to win two swimming golds at the same Olympic Games after he and his teammates were victorious in the 4x200m freestyle relay in Tokyo.
The 21-year-old former pupil at Malorees Infant & Junior School in Brondesbury Park, raced with James Guy, 25, Matthew Richards, 18, and Duncan Scott, 24.
The team clocked a time of six minutes and 58.58 seconds – 0.03 seconds off a world record time.
They saw off the Russian Olympic Committee and Australia to secure Team GB’s third swimming gold of Tokyo 2020.
It came after Tom won the men’s 200m freestyle 24 hours on Tuesday (July 27) beating teammate Duncan by 0.04 seconds.
Dean’s gold medal and Scott’s silver meant it was the first time since 1908 that two British male swimmers had shared a podium.
Tom, who revealed he has had coronavirus twice inside the past year, said: “It feels pretty special. Double Olympic champion sounds pretty good. The last 24 hours have been unreal, a complete whirlwind.
“This was our best, best, best case scenario. The way Jimmy and I have been training in Bath and the times he’s been dropping, I’ve never had a shadow of doubt in my mind and it came together like we knew it would.”
Dean previously spoke of his fears about whether or not he would be able to compete in Japan after his two bouts of coronavirus.
He experienced only mild symptoms when he first fell ill last September but suffered a more serious infection in January when he was forced to take seven weeks off training and could not walk up the stairs without "coughing and wheezing".
“When I was sitting in my flat in isolation, Olympic gold seemed like a million miles off,” he said after his first win. “But here we are. This is the single greatest achievement in my life. It’s a dream come true to wear Olympic gold around my neck.”
Staff and pupils at Malorees, in Christchurch Avenue, wished Tom good luck in a video when the games began last Friday.
PE teacher Mike Cleary said: "If you can we would love for you to come back to Malorees to join us perhaps with a medal around your neck to show off."
Additional reporting by PA
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