The Neptune swimmer finished 13th overall in the women’s 1500m freestyle on day two of the world championships in Singapore yesterday.
She clocked 16min 13.16sec in the second heat, her fastest time on the international stage at the distance.
Kiwi Eve Thomas, who was part of the 4x200m relay alongside Deans in Paris, finished 16th in 16min 28.10sec.
United States great Katie Ledecky, who has been a dominant force in the distance for over 10 years, was the top qualifier for the final with 15min 36.68sec.
Looking to defend her 400m freestyle title on Sunday, former Dunedin swimmer Erika Fairweather was disqualified for moving on the blocks during the heat.
Canadian Summer McIntosh stormed home to win the title in 3min 56.26sec.
China’s Bingjie Li claimed silver in 3min 58.21sec and Ledecky took bronze in 3min 58.49sec.
It was a tight battle — Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus skipping the world championships again — and the top four all went under 4min with Australian Lani Pallister coming fourth in 3min 58.87sec.
Fairweather is back in the pool this afternoon in the women’s 200m freestyle, alongside Milana Tapper making her Aquablacks debut.
Olympian Lewis Clareburt will also get his world championships under way in the men’s 200m butterfly.
Semifinals for both events are scheduled for late tonight (NZ time).
Deans is back in the pool on Friday, racing alongside former club-mate Fairweather in the women’s 800m freestyle.
