Plymouth Leander swimmer Reece Dunn capped off his tumultuous year by being awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on New Year’s.
26-year-old Dunn reaped an incredible 5 medals at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan this summer, including gold in the 200m free, 200m IM and mixed 4x100m free relay while also snagging 100m fly silver and 100m back bronze (S14).
Reflecting on his year of 2021, Dunn said, “I struggled a lot. I went from swimming every day to not being able to walk around my flat without feeling out of breath. It was not the best.
“That was around this time last year, mentally, I was not all that good. It took me about four or five weeks to get back to normal.”
He said of his MBE, “I was quite shocked to be honest but quite proud to be recognized. It has been a stressful year but one in which I have been able to achieve things regardless of the pandemic.” (Devon Live).
Dunn was shortlisted for the new Paralympian of the Year award after his success in Tokyo but lost out to the gold-medal winning GB wheelchair rugby team.