Agility Magazine // Issue 8 // December 2019

REECE DUNN On having fun, and claiming four medals, at the World Para Swimming Championships

IT’S only when you list Reece Dunn’s 2019 achievements that you can fully appreciate what a whirlwind year it has been for the 24-year-old.

The Plymouth Leander swimmer only joined the British Para Swimming set-up earlier this year before winning three medals at the British Para Swimming International Meet in Glasgow. He subsequently broke the S14 100m and 200m freestyle world records in June at the Berlin World Para Swimming World Series event.

Those stunning results confirmed Dunn’s place at the World Para Swimming Championships, where more world records, three gold medals and a silver followed – much to the delight of the home crowd.

It’s been a tiring year but an enjoyable one for the man coached by Robin Armayan, as he explained two months on from his London adventure.

“The results at the Worlds were amazing for me,” Reece told Agility. “But apart from that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and had a lot of fun.

“When I was 11-14 years old and swimming at the Nationals, that was in front of pretty big crowds but it wasn’t anywhere near as busy as London. The Worlds were in front of a home crowd too, so the atmosphere was really loud, especially coming out for the finals!

“That gave me a massive lift, I’ve never felt anything like it before and walking out to a roar like that felt great and really made me smile. It gets the adrenaline going before you’ve even started, and I think that helped me swim pretty fast.”

He continued: “I wasn’t really thinking about medals before the World Championships. I went in there to have fun and to familiarise myself with the international scene, and to see how well I can deal with the pressure – especially going into Tokyo next year. It was my first international meet for GB, so to come away with four medals was fantastic.

“It’s been a couple of months since then, so I’m just aiming to keep my head switched on for the next season. Obviously, I’m really happy with what I achieved but I just want to look ahead now and ensure I am prepared for Tokyo.”

In all, the GB team claimed 19 gold medals at the London Aquatics Centre to finish second overall, with Alice Tai, Tully Kearney, Brock Whiston and Dunn among the many home stars. “It was a great atmosphere in the team, and some of the younger academy guys even joined us at one stage too, which was great,” Reece remarked.

“To be on a team with someone like Ellie Simmonds who has been involved since she was 12 was great. She’s so lovely and made me feel so welcome, which helped me a lot. “When you have your down days, as you do sometimes in sport, it’s great to have people nearby who you can rely on.”

Despite his four-medal haul in the capital, Reece won’t be taking his place on the GB Tokyo 2020 team for granted. “I’m just trying to concentrate on each day of training ahead of me,” he confirmed. “Obviously, the Paralympics will be a big goal next year, but it’s important to work hard to make the team first of all.

“Representing GB has been a huge dream for me since I was very young. Most people get into sport to represent their country on the biggest stage and that’s the same for me. “I don’t set medal targets – I’m the kind of person who chases times rather than medals, but obviously a medal at the Paralympic Games would be fantastic.”

He added: “Everything has to be right to make that a reality. You have to look after your mental and emotional state as well as your physical condition. It’s tricky to manage it all but it is do-able.

“I’ve never really enjoyed the training before. I do it for the racing and the adrenaline I get from that, but recently I’ve managed to turn my training around and I’m starting to enjoy that side of it more. That is obviously a big bonus. The hard work and pain comes with training, so it’s great if you can get some enjoyment from that!”