The Dunedin swimmer reached the podium of the first meeting of the Mare Nostrum Tour in Monaco at the weekend.
Deans swam a personal-best time of 4min 14.34sec to claim bronze in the 400m freestyle on day two of the event.
It was a top result for the 22-year-old, who is set to compete at the world championships next month.
Hungarian Ajna Kesely claimed first place in 4min 11.79sec, while German Leonie Kullman was second in 4min 13.11sec.
Deans also clocked a time of 2min 2.87sec in the 200m freestyle to finish eighth.
The meeting was the first of three on the Mare Nostrum Tour, a series of two-day events around southern Europe.
Her next competition is tomorrow in Barcelona, while she will progress on to race in Cannes from there.
-- Jeff Cheshire
