{"id":533935,"date":"2023-07-27T17:59:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T00:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=533935"},"modified":"2023-07-27T19:22:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T02:22:00","slug":"world-championships-how-the-dean-boxall-of-st-peters-unlocked-australias-treasure-trove-of-gold-in-fukuoka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-how-the-dean-boxall-of-st-peters-unlocked-australias-treasure-trove-of-gold-in-fukuoka\/","title":{"rendered":"World Championships: How The Dean Of St Peters Unlocked Australia\u2019s Treasure Trove Of Gold In Fukuoka"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Championships: How The Dean Of St Peters Unlocked Australia\u2019s Treasure Trove Of Gold In Fukuoka<\/strong><\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s triple Olympic and world beating freestyler Ariarne Titmus<\/strong> has provided an emotion charged tribute to her coach Dean Boxall<\/strong> after the Dolphins delivered another record-breaking night in Fukuoka\u2019s Marine Messe Pool last night.<\/p>\n

Medals around their necks after their world record breaking feats in the 4x200m freestyle relay, Titmus and her teammates \u2013 all from Queensland’s powerhouse St Peters Western Club in Brisbane paid homage to her coach.<\/p>\n

\"AUS

GOLDEN GUARD: Australian coaches with Dean Boxall with Shayna Jack (far left) form a guard of honour for Australia’s \u00a0all-conquering 4x200m freestyle relay girls. Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

Standing alongside her in the Media Mixed Zone were Shayna Jack, Brianna Throssell<\/strong> and Mollie O\u2019Callaghan<\/strong> \u2013 all proud members of Australia\u2019s all-conquering women\u2019s team and all proud members of Boxall\u2019s SPW team.<\/p>\n

Asked about how Dean manages to coach a group of girls to race against each other and then bring them altogether for arguably one of the greatest relay performances in the history of the sport, Titmus gave a stunning analogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the best way to describe it is that each athlete is a door and Dean has a bunch of keys\u2026and he finds the key that unlocks each door,\u201d revealed Titmus, who left Tasmania with her family when she was 16 to seek swimming fame in Queensland\u2019s gold medal factory.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd every lock is different, and I feel like he found my key very quickly and he finds everyone else\u2019s keys to get the best out of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel very passionately about thanking our coach and most of us have a very close relationship with him as my coach, he\u2019s my friend, as a male figure in my life and I\u2019ll be forever grateful to him for this.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAnd this would not be possible without him, and I think that is why I owe it to him\u2026that\u2019s why I get emotional talking about him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Titmus could not continue as the tears flowed, getting immediate support from her trio of training partners \u2013 lumps in the throats of seasoned international sports writers some who thought they had seen it all.<\/p>\n

Until the Dean of St Peters unleashed his 2023 brand of girl power on the world.<\/p>\n

The other girls then chimed in with their own take on Dean Boxall\u2019s masterly ways, that have seen Australia scoop the pool over the first five days of this extraordinary meet \u2013 that could well see them become the greatest Australian Swim Team in the country\u2019s proud swimming history.<\/p>\n

Boxall\u2019s 10-strong group on the Australian team has seen:<\/p>\n

Gold to Titmus in a world record time in the 400m freestyle<\/p>\n

\"Dean

PURE EMOTION: Dean Boxall and Australian head coach Rohan Taylor. Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan Photography.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gold and silver<\/strong> to O\u2019Callaghan and Titmus in world record time to O\u2019Callaghan<\/p>\n

Jack and O\u2019Callaghan<\/strong> in both the 4×100 and 4x200m freestyle relays in world record time<\/p>\n

Jack <\/strong>producing three all-time Top Ten relay splits in the 100 relays.<\/p>\n

Brave heart<\/strong> Jack Cartwright and \u201cthe kid\u201d Kai Taylor (son the legendary Hayley Lewis) coming back into the men\u2019s gold medal winning 4x100m freestyle.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins have won nine gold and over the next three days will surpass their efforts of 2001 when Don Talbot led the team to the top of the world \u2013 history beckons.<\/p>\n

Jack revealed how special the relay was to her, the relay that Australia won in Gwangju in 2019 and the relay she would have been in until she was confronted with her worst nightmare and the positive doping test that saw her face a two-year battle to clear her name \u2013 and it was Dean Boxall who stood by her every step of the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have set myself up well this week; I have come in with a complete clear head to enjoy myself and have the best time,\u201d said Jack.<\/p>\n

\u201cit was disappointing at Trials not to get the 100 individual spot and I wanted to come into this with a bit of fire in my belly, to have the best crack and see what I was capable of in that 100.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether that be relays or lead off in relays and that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve done and (it means so much) to be part of this race tonight (because) back in 2019 I was actually to be part of that relay as well, and unfortunately that got stripped from me.<\/p>\n

\"wade_waf23_s26pm-183\"

DEAN’S GIRLS: Super coach Dean Boxall greets his world beaters Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan after their 1-2 in the 200m freestyle. Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennnan Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cSo, to be standing here today with these girls and have my first experience in the 4 x200m and to break the world record is something I won\u2019t be able to process until after the meet to be honest.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd as Arnie said we owe it to our coach, Dean, he\u2019s the person who gets us going every day and the person who lifts us up and we did this for him tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s our family, he\u2019s someone we aspire to, to make proud and I think we have done that tonight and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he sheds a bit if a tear (himself), we\u2019re his girls and we are there to represent him and the club and we\u2019ve done a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack went on to reveal how Boxall set up the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one thing that Dean said is the last time Australia won the medal tally was in 2001 in Fukuoka and he said to us tonight do you want to be part of history?<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly what we did tonight we put our (best) foot forward and we got our gold medal and that counts towards that amazing medal tally and hopefully we can carry it forward for the rest of the week and make history,\u201d said Jack.<\/p>\n

Throssell, who swam into the finals team from the prelims, left WA post the Tokyo Olympics to follow her own coach Mick Palfrey (himself a graduate coach from St Peters) to the Queensland Sunshine Coast, but she soon made the move to Boxall\u2019s super group.<\/p>\n

\u201cDean got us pretty excited before the race this morning and it was just about getting the girls up and about and getting a good lane for tonight,\u201d said Throssell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to get myself into a finals swim and to have four St Peters Western girls through to the final is something pretty exciting and I think all of us just wanted to come together tonight and do it for Dean and do it for SPW.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Callaghan, at 19, the baby of the group said having so much depth in Australia has even pushed the group even further.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s this human environment around us from who supports us from Dean to the support network and our teammates.<\/p>\n

\"Shayna

ARISE THE GOLDEN GIRLS: Shayna Jack, Brianna Throssell and Mollie O’s heart felt reception for Ariarne Titmu.s Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan Photography]<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI think having that around us really helps us to thrive in this environment; we are on fire!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just amazing to think everyone has their own individual events but they are there to support each other at the end of the day no matter how bad we race or how good we race.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are always there for each other, and I think that\u2019s why we are lifting so much because there\u2019s that support and understanding of what we are going through and each day gets better and better and no matter what I think we are very proud of ourselves, everyone around us\u2026and specially our coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boxall and the Australian coaching staff led by head coach Rohan Taylor and Coaching mentor, former Head Coach Leigh Nugent, formed a guard of honour to greet the team after the momentous efforts in the pool.<\/p>\n

And as swimmers from around the world completed their swim downs and coaches and support staff filed past venue staff mopping up, one lone figure, coach Dean Boxall, sat in the front of the grandstand.<\/p>\n

Australian photographer Wade Brennan<\/strong> was there to capture the moving moments that will go down in the annals of a country with such a proud swimming history.<\/p>\n

The Dean of St Peters having a quiet moment, contemplating, and reflecting on what has become a sacred temple for his group of golden girls\u2026\u2026their golden pond.<\/p>\n

With Dean Boxall, alone in a world of his own\u2026.<\/p>\n