Born in Dunedin, Caitlin Deans started swimming when her parents enrolled her in learn-to-swim lessons. It was during one of those lessons that the head coach of Waves Swim Club approached Deans’ parents, asking if she would be interested in competitive swimming.

Deans quickly fell in love with the sport. She has fond memories of racing at junior nationals at the old QEII pool in Christchurch and the excitement of finishing racing so she could play on the hydro slides.

After Waves Swim Club dissolved, Deans joined Neptune Swim Club.

Deans has always preferred the distance freestyle events, but she also competed in backstroke, butterfly, and medley events throughout her age group years. Her favourite event is the 200m freestyle.

In 2015, Deans made her first junior national team when she competed at the Australian State Teams Short Course in Canberra.

Deans made her senior international debut at the 2018 Oceania Swimming Championships in Papua New Guinea, winning six medals. Deans earned three individual medals: silver in the 200m backstroke and bronze in the 400m and 800m freestyle events. She also picked up one gold and two silver medals across relay events.

In the same year, she competed at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in China. Deans took on a two-event programme, placing tenth in the 4x200m freestyle relay and 15th in the 800m freestyle.

It wasn’t until the 2022 New Zealand Swimming Championships that Deans would qualify for her first Aquablack team, notching a time of 16:27.34 to slip under the FINA ‘A’ time in the 1500m freestyle. Upon her debut as Aquablack #276 at Budapest’s 2022 FINA World Aquatics Championships, Deans experienced her first world championship final as part of the 4x200m freestyle relay that placed seventh. Individually, she placed 13th in the 1500m freestyle.

Deans represented New Zealand at the 2022 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Melbourne, where she placed fifth in the 1500m freestyle and lowered her best time by over ten seconds. She also placed 19th in the 200m freestyle and was part of the 4x200m freestyle relay that placed eighth.

Deans also competed at the 2022 Mare Nostrum circuit, where she scooped up a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle in Monaco.

At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, Deans again competed in the 1500m and 4x200m freestyle events, with a best finish of eleventh place in the latter event. Although Deans met the qualification time for the 800m freestyle, she was unable to swim the event due to World Aquatics permitting only two entrants per country for each event.

That same year, Deans competed at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, earning a bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle in Athens.

Deans swam her way to a new personal best time in the 1500m freestyle at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, placing tenth. She was then called up to the 4x200m freestyle relay final, where she helped the team reset the New Zealand record on the way to a fifth place finish.

At the 2024 New Zealand Swimming Championships, Deans placed third in the 200m freestyle, earning herself a berth on the 4x200m freestyle relay at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Come Paris, Deans is most looking forward to experiencing the village environment and having all the sports come together. Becoming an Olympian is a childhood dream come true for Deans, who says its still feels 'surreal'.

Deans trains in the Swim Dunedin programme under the direction of coach Lars Humer. Those she trains with inspire her most, Deans elaborates: “Seeing what they do day in, day out, in training is pretty incredible.”

Beyond swimming, Deans graduated from the University of Otago with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology in 2023. She now works at a biotech company.

Favourite quote - “Don’t compare your life to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They both shine when it’s their time.”  

💥 Qualified for Paris 2024 - 4x200m freestyle

As the third-place finisher in the women's 200m freestyle at the New Zealand Championships, Deans earned her ticket to Paris to compete in the 4x200m freestyle

💥 2024 World Aquatics Championships finalist & New Zealand record - 4x200m freestyle

Was part of the New Zealand team that swam in the final of the 4x200m freestyle relay the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, breaking the national record and finishing in fifth place

🥉 2023 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup - 1500m freestyle

Bronze medallist in the 1500m freestyle at the Athens leg of the 2023 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup

💥 2022 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) two-time finalist & New Zealand record - 1500m & 4x200m freestyle

Was a two-time finalist at the 2022 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), taking fifth place in the 1500m freestyle and eighth place in the 4x200m freestyle relay, breaking the New Zealand record in the heats of the latter event

💥  2022 FINA World Aquatics Championships finalist - 4x200m freestyle

Upon her Aquablack debut, placed seventh in the 4x200m freestyle at the 2022 FINA World Aquatics Championships

🥉 2022 Mare Nostrum - 400m freestyle

Earned bronze in the 400m freestyle during the Monaco leg of the 2022 Mare Nostrum tour

🥇 2018 Oceania Swimming Championships six time medallist

Six time medallist at the 2018 Oceania Swimming Championships, earning three individual medals and three relay medals