OLYMPIC swimming hero James Guy took the plunge into a very different kind of pool when he came face to face with his aquatic namesake.

The Radcliffe-born star, who won two silver medals at the Rio Games, visited Sea Life Manchester on Saturday to get up close and personal with the shark that was named after him.

After the 20-year-old picked up his first medal of the Olympics, bosses at the centre decided to celebrate his success by renaming one of their biggest fish, a Brownbranded Bamboo Shark, in his honour.

As well as showing off his medals with the shark, which is native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, James pulled on some diving gear and explored the treasures of the Sea Trek tank.

He tweeted: “Great day at the Sea life centre in Manchester. All very friendly and some proper fish in there too. The Sea Trek was amazing.”

James was a part of Team GB’s best performance in the pool in more than a century, playing a key role in securing two relay medals.

Despite suffering disappointment in his individual races in the opening few days in Rio, he improved as the competition went on and guided the team to silver in the 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley.