Reece Dunn on coach Robin Armayan and finding his 'love' for swimming

After winning five medals, including three golds, at the Tokyo Paralympics, swimmer Reece Dunn sent a special text message to his coach Robin Armayan back in Plymouth.

«I will never forget it,» Armayan tells BBC Sport. «He thanked me for everything and remembered that I was on poolside coaching him the day after my baby daughter was born last January. He said that not many coaches would have done that.

»I didn't think that anyone realised. I just did it because I love coaching and for me it is normal to keep going, even though it was hard.

«For someone to recognise that and tell me was very special.

»But Reece also helped keep my spirits up during some tough times earlier in the year when I was exhausted and struggling.

«Sometimes we see each other more than our families so our relationship is a key component of achieving in high-class sport.»

Dunn who was diagnosed with autism as a teenager, came back from his debut in Tokyo as Britain's most successful athlete at the Games after his performances in the S14 category for swimmers with intellectual impairments.

But the 26-year-old admits that if it wasn't for the Frenchman, his life now would be a lot different.

«Robin helped me find my love for the sport again and knew how to drive me forward,» explains Dunn.

«When I started working with him around five years ago, I had started to hate swimming. But we had a complete change of training and then I started to fall in love with it again.

»If that hadn't happened, I would probably be in a 9-5 job now instead of being a full-time athlete and a Paralympic champion."

After linking up with Armayan at Plymouth Leander, Dunn, who was already a talented swimmer, went from a sprint-based focus to a mid-distance schedule because of the