The last time Tom Dean swam in Japan, he raced five times in two events on his way to double Olympic gold.
This time round, he stormed to 200m freestyle World Championship silver.
Touching the wall just 0.2 seconds behind compatriot and gold medal winner Matt Richards, Dean overhauled Tokyo 2020 rival Sunwoo Hwang and the favourite on paper David Popovici for silver in a time of 1:44.32 in Japan.
And Britain's first medals of the Championships were certainly memorable, with gold and silver making Fukuoka the first-ever time two British men have shared a 200m free podium at a World Championships.
"It's a bitter-sweet result for myself, but I've known Matt for years and if there's anyone to get beaten by, it would be another Brit," said Dean.
"It bodes well for the relay and really bodes well for the Paris Olympics next year. I am buzzing right now.
"The 4x200 is our specialty, we are Olympic champions and we want to continue the GB reign. No other country can put the team together that we can.
"I have a lot more races but I am secretly really excited about that one."
Literal goosebumps 🤯
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 25, 2023
It all comes down to the final stroke for a historic British one-two in men's 200m free 🥇🥈#Fukuoka2023 pic.twitter.com/P9IWzCj4Ow
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Having returned to the Land of the Rising Sun for the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Dean could conceivably feature in as many as seven different events.
That change in schedule is something that the 23-year-old got a first taste of last year, expanding his number of swims at both the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games, racing 13 times in each meet.
And while he picked up ten medals across the two events, as well as scooping a full set of medals at the European Championships in Rome as part of a jam-packed summer, Dean admits the accumulation of swims took their toll.
“I think 33 international races in the space of three weeks was a little bit too much last year and I was starting to feel it when we got to Rome,” he said.
“I only swam two events in Tokyo and only raced five times. I stepped up to race 13 times in Budapest last year at the World Champs. Physically, mentally, emotionally, that takes so much out of you over the course of six or seven days. So much more than I could have ever expected.
“It’s a tough, tough week and I really have to have faith in my training and my ability to back up hard session with hard session, which is what we have been working on.”
Dean burst onto the scene in 2021 when he led home compatriot Duncan Scott in a British one-two in the 200m freestyle, with the duo then forming half of the 4x200m freestyle relay team that won a second gold in Tokyo.
Dean has since added a second individual event to his schedule, winning Commonwealth silver in the 200m individual medley behind Scott.
And with the heats of the medley coming the morning after the final of the freestyle, Dean knows that learning to manage his emotions will be key, both in Fukuoka this summer, but also when he looks to retain his Olympic crown in Paris next year.
He added: “The 200m free final is on one of the days and that really takes a lot out of my physically but also emotionally, that’s my number one race, I want to do a good job. If it goes well, I’m up high, if it doesn’t go well, it’s tough. The following morning you are up and the 200m IM heats where you can’t be messing around at World Champs.
“Those really tough doubles are where you have to have no emotion, you have to be completely robotic, warm up, race, swim down, medal ceremony, eat, physio, sleep, wake up, warm up, race. You have to take your emotion out of it and put your body into its routine to get the best out of you.
“Last year, 13 swims at Commies, 13 swims at World Champs, that was a real test for me. I’m glad it went well and there were learnings we took away from it on the physiology and the sports science side of things. But I’m confident we can do this for Fukuoka and then Paris next year as well.”
Sportsbeat 2023