Plymouth’s Paralympic Swimming Champion Reece Dunn has been recognised for his outstanding achievements at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.
Reece was presented with the Lord Mayor’s Achievement Award at special reception in his honour in front of Plymouth Civic Leaders including Council Leader Nick Kelly, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Leisure and Sport Councillor Mark Deacon and Strategic Director for People Craig McArdle.
Reece’s performance at the Paralympics in September was incredible, not only did he finish the games with three gold medals, one silver and a bronze he also collected three world records. His performance has cemented his place as one of Team GBs most successful Paralympian’s.
Reece said: “After a hard 16 to 18 months of start/stopping due to the pandemic, my local pool closing due to repairs and contracting COVID myself; I was unsure I was going to be able to achieve my dream of making it to the Paralympic Games. But after a more than successful games and earning more medals than I expected, I am honoured to receive the performance award from the Lord Mayor. Thank you to my family, my club, my coach Robin and my friends for their support over what has been nearly two decades of hard work.”
Lord Mayor Councillor Terri Beer said: “Reece’s performance at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo was absolutely outstanding. We are all so proud of his achievements and I’m absolutely delighted to present him with the Lord Mayor’s Achievement award. I have no doubt Reece’s performance will inspire the next generation of Paralympic swimmers.”
Reece only joined the British Para-Swimming team in 2019 and has already established himself on the international stage with a trio of World Para Swimming Championship titles and four world records.
In a whirlwind debut year the Plymouth Leander athlete broke the S14 100m and 200m Freestyle records at June's World Para Swimming World Series event in Berlin.
Three months later, he swam to individual gold in the S14 200m Freestyle and S14 100m Butterfly at the World Championships, as well as playing a part in the Mixed S14 4x100m Freestyle Relay team.
Reece’s coach Robin Armayan said: “Reece was truly outstanding throughout the 2020 Paralympics, his ability to step up when it mattered was impressive and he proved that hard work, resilience, commitment and mental toughness eventually pay off. Reece certainly has made us all very proud in Plymouth and he is a fantastic source of inspiration for younger athletes and people in general who aspire to be the best version of themselves."
The next step for Reece will be to qualify and perform at the 2022 Para World Championships in Fukuoka and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
