Tom Dean Benefited From Ian Thorpe’s Comments En Route to Olympic Gold in 200 Freestyle

Jul 27, 2021; Tokyo, Japan; Tom Dean (GBR) celebrates after winning the men's 200m freestyle final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Dean Benefited From Ian Thorpe’s Comments En Route to Olympic Gold in 200 Freestyle

In the last year, Brett Hawke has welcomed a bevy of high-profile guests onto his Inside With Brett Hawke Podcast, including legendary freestyler and fellow Australian, Ian Thorpe. During his interview, Thorpe commented that he thought swimmers were not approaching the 200-meter freestyle with enough aggression, a stance that went viral.

Well, in a recent interview with Hawke, British star Tom Dean noted that he was aware of Thorpe’s comments and took them to heart as he prepared for the biggest summer of his career. En route to capturing the gold medal in the 200 freestyle at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Dean attacked the front half of his race. Touching in a final time of 1:44.22, Dean covered the front half in 50.46, and that early speed was enough of a cushion to fend off fellow Brit Duncan Scott, the silver medalist in 1:44.26.

“It did completely,” Dean said of Thorpe’s comments and whether they made sense. “I think the 200 free is such a tactical event and there’s so many ways you can swim it…It has got so much rich history as an event, so to be part of that is so cool, and if I can take any kind of nuggets of information and wisdom from people like Ian Thorpe, then I’ll take on board anything I possibly can and see where it fits into my race plan.”

Here is the segment of Hawke’s interview with Dean in which the British standout discusses Thorpe’s influence.

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