The life of Stonehaven teen swim superstar and Olympic hopeful Dean Fearn

For such a sporty lot, Dean Fearn’s family has spent a surprising amount of time in cars over the years.

Mum Karina Nalivaiko has been ferrying three kids to triathlons, football, rugby and swimming for years.

All three are doing well, but Dean, as the oldest at 17, is leading the charge with genuine Olympic swimming hopes.

The Stonehaven family has been through the mill, losing dad James Fearn during Covid.

Now, former Lathallan student Dean is training in Stirling all week, in or around the pool for at least 16 hours.

But what’s it like to be a teen swimming sensation — or related to one?

I had a chat with Dean and Karina (who were in a leisure centre cafe while his sister was swimming, obviously) for some insight.

From local swim club to Olympic hopeful

From triathlon training with his brother Kai while they were both still in primary school to world titles, Dean has definitely put in the work for where he is now.

He started off at a local swimming club before moving on to Aberdeen Dolphins.

And now, having finished school, he’s having a gap year at Stirling University as a test drive for whether he’ll go there full-time as an undergraduate student next year.

Since 2023, Dean has proved he is a real prospect.

That year, he picked up silver and bronze medals at the European Youth Olympic Festival.

Just a few weeks later, he got a gold and bronze at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.

In 2024, Dean got another gold and bronze combination at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Lithuania.

He specialises in butterfly and backstroke.

This year, in what Dean describes as “probably the biggest yet”, he brought home a haul of four gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

They came from the European Junior Championships again in Slovakia and the World Junior Swimming Championships.

But he remembers the point when the competitive bug bit.

Dean said: “I think it was Scottish Schools, I want to say I was 12, maybe 11. I got to the final and then I won it.

“That was my first record, I liked the thought of chasing more down, I think that’s where it all started off.

“I slowly start to become more serious and it’s really just progressed ever since.

“But it definitely came from triathlons and stuff like — we always did a lot of sport. Over the years, I narrowed it down to swimming.”

‘Dad would be proud’

Both Dean and his family have gone above and beyond to make his swimming dream a reality.

Mum Karina, 46, has been operating as a single parent since 2020 for a very tragic reason.

During Covid, the children’s dad James died unexpectedly aged just 45.

Dean said: “Dad wasn’t into swimming, but he was around for all the running about. For the time he was here, he was doing a lot.

“It was such a long time ago — but also, it wasn’t. It’s hard to speak about.

“I think he’d be proud of all three of us.”

At the age of nine, Chelsey is showing promise in the pool as well. Kai, 16, is currently playing rugby at national level and at Merchiston School in Edinburgh.

Karina describes the chaos of having three kids showing signs of achievement in multiple sports.

She admitted: “It was quite time-consuming, training every day and taking the other two everywhere.

“It was quite tricky to juggle everything.

“We were never in the house, honestly. I would prepare food in containers and everyone was eating in the car.

“It was quite a mobile life, there was lots of travelling and lots of food prepping.”

The training lifestyle also costs money.

Karina said: “Between all the competitions and travelling, the fuel and training fees and accommodation and eating the right diet is expensive as well.

“It’s quite a lot.”

Long-listed for Commonwealth Games

Dean has done his bit, too.

He gets a train to Stirling on Monday and isn’t home until Friday.

His training schedule is impressive, with seven two-hour swim sessions a week and gym sessions thrown in on Wednesday and Friday.

Dean is using this year to try to find a rhythm.

He explained: “This year has been trying to balance that and find what’s best.”

Whatever he’s doing, it seems to be working.

Although he is very aware that the step up from juniors to seniors can be tricky, he has definite prospects.

Dean said: “I think everyone finds it difficult, but a lot of people just don’t make that jump. So that’ll be the first challenge.

“I want to have realistic goals, but judging from the last three years, I guess, knowing how to set those has become a lot easier.

“I’ve been long-listed for the Commonwealth Games next year.”

He also says the Olympics in LA in 2028 are “definitely something to keep an eye on”.

Dean will find out what the next stage of his journey looks like after trials in April.

We should all probably be making a note in our diaries.

[Source: Press and Journal]