Speedo, the world’s leading swimwear brand and Pentland Brands company, has announced the signing of European champions Freya Anderson and Tom Dean.
The duo both won gold at the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow in what was their most successful year to date and will look to continue that progress whilst wearing Speedo’s Fastskin LZR Pure Intent suits.
They join Team Speedo athletes including fellow Brits Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Duncan Scott as well as international superstars Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Murphy (USA) and Emma McKeon (AUS).
18-year-old Anderson first entered the world swimming stage when she anchored the Mixed 4x100m Medley team to gold, helping to set a European record. 2018 also saw her make her Commonwealth Games debut and feature in the shortlist for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.
Having won European Junior gold in the 200m Individual Medley in Helsinki earlier in the year, Dean was part of the 4x200m Freestyle relay team which would also win gold at the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow. Dean then claimed his first senior British titles at the British Swimming Championships in Edinburgh, setting an age group record and breaking the two-minute barrier in the 200m Individual Medley for the first time.
Speaking about joining the Speedo team, Anderson said: “2018 was an incredible year for me – I swam with some of my idols and did things I never imaged I would when I was younger. Growing up, my favourite swimmer was always Rebecca Adlington, I would focus school projects on her and my dream is to emulate her. She was also sponsored by Speedo and so hopefully this is the first step on that path.”
Dean added: “It was a real honour to be selected for the European Championships and to win a medal was amazing. Hopefully I can continue my progress this year and joining the Speedo team will certainly give me the best chance to do so.”
Rob Hicking, Brand Director, Speedo, added: “Freya and Tom are without doubt the two most exciting young swimmers in the country and we’re thrilled to have them on board. The performances of both since transitioning to elite level senior swimming has been remarkable and we’re sure that both will have a bright future.
“Speedo is proud to sponsor some of the biggest names in the swimming world, but we’re equally as keen to help the next generation of stars reach that level, so we’re very excited to help Freya and Tom achieve their goals over the coming years.”