Tom Dean swaps gold medals for glitterballs on Strictly Come Dancing

Olympic swimmer Tom Dean is trading his swimsuit for sequins as he joins the new season of Strictly Come Dancing.

Fresh off a gold medal victory in Paris, Tom, will be diving straight into rehearsals for the popular BBC dance show.

He’s the latest in a line up of top-level swimmers to compete on Strictly, including Adam Peaty, who won silver in Paris, Mark Foster, Lauren Steadman, Ellie Simmonds, and Jody Cundy.

“Swimmers have been known to be excellent contestants due to their fitness, competitiveness, and determination. Tom will still be riding high from his recent win,” an insider told The Sun.

Tom made history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning two golds in the 200m freestyle and the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.

He was the first male British swimmer to win two gold medals at the same Games in 113 years and was honoured with an MBE in 2022.

Earlier this week he picked up a third gold as the British team successfully defended their relay title in Paris.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing will launch in September on BBC one.

Other names on the rumoured line up are Love Island star Tasha Ghouri, comedian Chris McCausland, EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick, reality TV star Pete Wicks, and DIY SOS host Nick Knowles.