Dean Boxall named Swimming World International Coach of the Year

Elite swimming coach Dean Boxall has been named International Coach of the Year by US-based publication Swimming World.

Gaining global attention during the Tokyo Olympics when he celebrated the Gold medal 400-metre freestyle win of Ariarne Titmus, whom he coached, Boxall is regarded as one’s of the world’s top swimming coaches having trained swimmers at both state, national and international levels, including the World Championships and Olympics. 

Explaining Boxall’s achievements, Ian Hanson, principal of the Hanson Media Group and Swimming World’s Oceania Correspondent, described Titmus’ win as “one of the golden moments” of the Tokyo Games with the coach’s celebration one of “Olympic proportions” that “Boxall wasn’t going to let it pass without letting it all hang out.”

Hanson went on to write “Boxall, 42, the eccentric, passionate coach, born in South Africa, arrived in Australia with his family at the age of seven and he has been in the fast lane as a swimmer and a coach ever since.

“Plying his trade under coaches like Olympic gold medal coach Michael Bohl, the hours, days and years of blood, sweat and tears, rainy day sessions and sacrifices all came to fruition for Boxall on a magical night at the Tokyo Olympic Aquatic Centre.

“A special swimmer-coach relationship surfaced between Titmus and Boxall, built on absolute dedication and trust. That’s why this partnership has developed that Midas touch. Few can argue this 400 freestyle showdown between Titmus and (reigning Olympic Champion Katie) Ledecky was one of the most-anticipated duels in the pool that captivated the world.

“(When Titmus won) Boxall unleashed a wild celebration, bringing back memories of great Australian coach Laurie Lawrence, when his super-charged Duncan Armstrong won the Olympic 200 freestyle gold in Seoul in 1988. Boxall screamed in in joy, flung his long blonde hair around, grabbed hold of the top of a barrier at the top of the grandstand, shook it like professional wrestling legend and his childhood hero the ultimate warrior and leaned back with his hips forward before punching the air wildly.”

The Indooroopilly-based St Peters Western Swim Club has in recent years become Australia’s premiere high performance swimming club, sending no less than six athletes to the Tokyo Olympics, including the legendary double Tokyo Gold medal winning Olympian Ariarne ‘Arnie’ Titmus.

In addition to his role with Australian swimming team, Boxall coaches at the Indooroopilly-based St Peters Western Swim Club.

Earlier this years he was named back-to-back Age Coach of the Year and Youth Coach of the Year at the Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ASCTA) Awards.

Image: Dean Boxall. Credit: Delly Carr/ASCTA.