Tokyo Olympics: Britain's Tom Dean and Duncan Scott take gold and silver in men's 200m freestyle

Tom Dean missed seven weeks of training after contracting the virus twice, but alongside Duncan Scott he helps Team GB to a historic Olympic one-two in the Tokyo pool.

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Tom Dean takes 200m freestyle gold
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Swimmer Tom Dean has won gold in the men's 200m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, with fellow Briton Duncan Scott taking a very close silver.

It is the first time two British male swimmers have shared an Olympic podium in more than 110 years, and comes after Dean caught COVID twice in the run-up to the Games.

The 21-year-old was third heading into the last 50 metres, while Scott was sixth at the halfway stage, but the pair finished strongly in a dramatic last stretch that ended with just 0.04 seconds between them.

The bronze went to Brazil's Fernando Scheffer.

Scott had qualified fastest for the final but it was Dean who held his form to win the second gold in the pool for Team GB - and trigger wild celebrations back home in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Tom Dean beat his fellow Brit by 0.04 seconds to take the gold medal
Image: Tom Dean beat his fellow Brit by 0.04 seconds to take the gold medal
The British pair won gold and silver after catching pace setter Sunwoo Hwang of South Korea
Image: The British pair won gold and silver after catching pace setter Sunwoo Hwang of South Korea

His victory is the fourth gold of this year's Games for Team GB, after Monday's gold rush kicked off by Adam Peaty in the breaststroke.

"I knew it was going to be a dogfight, I didn't know how people were going to swim it, just race the race and that's how it is," Dean said.

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Tom Dean (right) and Duncan Scott won gold and silver respectively, the first time since 1908 two Brits have taken first and second in swimming
Image: Tom Dean (right) and Duncan Scott with their medals
Tom Dean took gold after having COVID twice
Image: Tom Dean took gold after having COVID twice

He said the Olympics had seemed a "million miles off" when he was isolating in his flat after contracting coronavirus twice in a year.

"I contracted COVID-19 twice in the last 12 months, I had six or seven weeks out during an Olympic year which is almost unheard of," he said.

"The first time wasn't too bad. The second time I did the full isolation period, I wasn't able to train and it was a slow-build back into training."

Dean's mother, Jacquie Hughes, told Sky News her son knew he could win.

"I knew he was feeling confident, I knew he had put in the work. He knew it was going to be a tight race; Duncan Scott is an amazing swimmer - and he knew, as he said, it was going to be a dog fight.

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Wild scenes back home as Tom Dean bags swimming gold

"I asked him this morning 'did you think you could win?' And he said yes he did.

"He feels like he is in a dream at the moment."

Ms Hughes added: "I just said to him, 'Tom my heart is bursting' and it's not just because you have won a gold medal it's the way he conducts himself, the way he picks himself up after disappointment.

"He's had two bouts of COVID this year, it's really knocked his plan off. I'm just so proud of the way he approaches it."

In winning gold, Dean set a new British record with a time of 1:44:22.

Duncan Scott was narrowly above Dean in the rankings coming into the Games and qualified fastest but was delighted for his teammate.

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'He felt like he was in a dream' - Tom Dean's mum

"Just a massive credit to Tom Dean. That was unbelievable. Olympic champion," he said.

Mike Boles, Scott's first swim coach, told Sky News: "Typical Duncan so happy for his team mate who got the gold.

"That's just what he was like when he was a wee boy as well.

"He enjoyed his swimming and was always pleased with what he did."

Around 70 members of Dean's family celebrated the win at the family home in Maidenhead.

Fellow gold-winner Adam Peaty congratulated the pair on Twitter, saying: "Great to see such a force of talent on the team, absolutely sensational."

"To come along so far in the last 18 months, it's a pleasure to watch him.

"It's great to be able to say he's a good mate out of the pool."

This result is the first time two British male swimmers have shared an Olympic podium since London 1908.

Team GB is enjoying its best start to an Olympic Games in modern history.

This morning's wins in the pool bring Britain's medal haul to 10 - eclipsing the previous record of six by day four.

But away from the pool there was heartbreak for Team GB's Bianca Walkden in the women's 67kg Taekwondo.

The 29-year-old from Liverpool was ahead but ended up losing her semi-final with seconds to go after taking a head kick from South Korea's Lee Da-Bin.

She will compete for the bronze medal later today.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Taekwondo - Women's Heavyweight +67kg - Semifinal - Makuhari Messe Hall A, Chiba, Japan - July 27, 2021. Bianca Walkden of Britain and Lee Da-Bin of South Korea shake hands before competing REUTERS/Murad Sezer
Image: Bianca Walkden (left) was beaten in the final seconds and misses the final

In the women's kayak single event, Britain's Kimberley Woods made it to the final after qualifying second in her heat but didn't manage to win a medal.

Kimberley Woods of Britain reacts after competing
Image: Kimberley Woods reacts after losing out on a medal

There was also a huge result in the tennis, with Japan's Naomi Osaka - one of the stars of the Games - beaten by Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round.

Naomi Osaka of Japan walks off after losing her third round match against Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic
Image: Naomi Osaka went out of the tennis in one of the biggest shocks of the Games so far

Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron in Friday's opening ceremony, had won her opening two matches in straight sets.

Also in the pool on Tuesday, Britain's Kathleen Dawson finished in sixth place in the 50m women's backstroke, with Kaylee McKeown of Australia taking gold in a new Olympic record.

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In the women's 200m freestyle semi-final, Team GB's Freya Anderson missed out on a spot in the final after finishing seventh in her heat.

There was also a shock in the women's 100m, with 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby from the US taking gold - the first time someone from Alaska has appeared in the Olympics.