Home comforts helped Bruce Dee storm to Commonwealth bronze on the final night of swimming in Glasgow.
The Kettering swimmer clinched a place on the podium in the men’s S7 50m freestyle with a powerful finish at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.
Dee harnessed the Scottish crowd to his advantage, with his vocal English contingent of friends and family helping him get the touch for bronze ahead of India’s Suyash Narayan Jadhav.
“It’s absolutely brilliant, I’m so happy with that,” he said.
“I was dying a bit at the end but I gave it my all, I worked on what went wrong this morning and I can’t ask for much more.
“I knew I’d be fighting for third but with the crowd behind me I had to come third.”
There was at least a strong English contingent in the Glaswegian crowd, with Dee’s friends, family and former swimming teacher in attendance to support.
It proved a key difference for Dee, who swims his best with home comforts in the crowd.
“My family are here, my parents, brother and sister, and also my old swim teacher from Year Five which is brilliant as she literally taught me how to dive,” he added.
“I always swim better when my family are here. They’re happy with me whatever happens so there was no pressure on me.”
Dee made his Team England debut at Glasgow 2026 and relished the opportunity to compete in an integrated Games, with para athletes in the same team as able-bodied athletes.
“I’ve loved the Games,” he said. “I’ve been getting to know the able-bodied swimmers which has been a different experience for me as I’m usually just with the para group.
“It’s been a really good experience. We can share our celebrations more and it unites the para and able-bodied groups which is brilliant.”
