26/05/26

The RLSS UK Celebrity Ambassador role highlights the mutual vision of creating communities free from drowning. 

Tom Dean MBE is a three-time winning Olympic swimming gold medallist, winning twice at Tokyo in 2021 (becoming the first male British swimmer to win two gold Olympic medals at the same games in 113 years), and again at Paris in 2024. Dean is from Maidenhead and began swimming lessons as an infant. Alongside Olympic gold medals, Dean is a British and European record holder, and he competed in 2024’s celebrity Strictly Come Dancing. In 2025, the Tom Dean Swim Schools opened and now have 5,000 members, teaching this fundamental life skill and maximising water confidence. This July, Dean heads to Glasgow for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the stage where he will look to build on his historic Birmingham 2022 performance, which saw him win more medals (7) at a single Games than any home nations athlete in history. 

On becoming an Ambassador for RLSS UK, Tom Dean said:
“All children should have the opportunity to learn lifesaving water safety skills. I am thrilled to become an RLSS UK Ambassador, as their work to ensure everyone in the UK and Ireland, no matter their background, can safely enjoy the benefits of being in and around water aligns strongly with my personal values. I am looking forward to seeing everything we can achieve together.” 

RLSS UK CEO Simmy Akhtar said: 
“We are delighted that Tom Dean is generously giving his time to help us reach more people with vital water safety information and thank him for his commitment to being an active ambassador for RLSS UK. Tom’s lived experience, elite standing as a British athlete, and advocacy aligns with RLSS UK’s mission, and his work actively reinforces safe water behaviours and drowning prevention messaging.” 

The first major campaign Tom Dean will join is RLSS UK’s Drowning Prevention Week, running from 13-20 June. Plans for the campaign include presenting a major water safety education event for 700 schoolchildren in Maidenhead and speaking at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Water Safety Education to encourage the Government to provide consistent swimming and water safety education for all.  

Join our Drowning Prevention Week campaign