Strictly Come Dancing's Tom Dean reveals motivation behind show ahead of Olympics

Olympic swimmer Tom Dean, who won gold at the Paris Olympics this summer, is hoping that taking part in Strictly Come Dancing will make him 'hungry' for more success

Strictly Come Dancing star Tom Dean is hoping it will reignite his passion for future Olympic glory.

After clinching gold at the Paris Olympics this summer, he's ready to swap his goggles for glitter, telling Radio Times magazine: "I always knew I was going to have a long break after the Paris Olympics. An Olympics cycle is always quite long, and it's a lot of sacrifice. You're in one place six days a week."

He's got his sights set on LA, aiming to bag more medals for Team GB, but believes a stint on the dance floor is just what he needs to stay motivated: "I want to go to LA and represent Team GB there and hopefully win medals again. But to keep longevity within the sport, I need to do something different, because I want to get back to being really hungry for it. And this is about as far away from the pool you can get!"

The 24 year old athlete, who's teamed up with pro dancer Nadiya Bychkova, confessed that dancing has been a physical adjustment, causing an unusual ache in his shins due to the unfamiliar muscle use. He expressed his enthusiasm for joining the show: "I said if the opportunity for Strictly came up, I'd 100% love to do it. I've been using a whole different group of muscles for it. My shins are sore, and I've never been sore in my shins in my life.", reports the Daily Star.

Dean is keen to transfer his athletic discipline to the dance studio, swapping laps for dance steps: "Swimming and dancing are both sports, but with dancing, you obviously have to add a bit more flair. When you're working hard in the pool, you can be grimacing, and no one will know! I'm going to bring the same training and work ethic, but instead of doing 5,000 metres in a pool, it's 5,000 steps instead."

"I was actually at Olympic training camp when I found out, and I called my mum. She was absolutely over the moon. Half of Maidenhead [where Tom grew up] is going to come along to watch a show."

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