BRITAIN’S Tom Dean contracted COVID-19 not once but twice in the runup to the Olympics, leaving him doubting he’d make it to the national trials, never mind Tokyo.

He made it to both and much, much more, winning gold in the 200m freestyle yesterday and leading an historic 1-2 in swimming for Team GB as teammate Duncan Scott took silver.

“This is the single greatest achievement of my life,” Dean said.

It was also Britain’s first 1-2 finish in the pool at the Olympics in over 100 years, since the 1908 Games in London.

Dean wasn’t sure that kind of swim would be possible for him in January, when he got COVID for a second time in four months. His cardiovascular system was hit, his lungs hurt and he couldn’t stop coughing, he said. “It’s amazing. It’s a dream come true having a gold around my neck.”

He was out of the pool for six to seven weeks, he said, trying to regain his strength.

(SD-Agencies)