"Couldn’t do it without you Boxell" - Ariarne Titmus thanks her coach for her World Aquatics Championships win
Ariarne Titmus thanked her coach Dean Boxell for his efforts after she won the 400m freestyle event at the 2023 World Aquatics Championship.
Titmus took on the likes of Summer McIntosh and legend Katie Ledecky in Fukuako in the 400m freestyle on Sunday, July 23. The reigning Olympic champion managed to fend off tough competition to come out on top, with Ledecky settling for second place.
The 22-year-old Australian took home the gold medal with a time of 3:55:38 seconds.
After the win, Titmus took to social media to credit the role Boxell played in her victory. Sharing a video where her coach can be seen celebrating her win, she wrote:
“Couldn’t do it without you Boxell”
The coach was seen celebrating Titmus' win like never before. He was continuously raising his arms and shouting in joy.
Ariarne Titmus's coach Dean Boxell thinks about coaching 24x7
In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Dean Boxell became viral on the internet for the first time for his wild celebration style. His student, Ariarne Titmus had won the women’s 400m freestyle and the South Africa-born coach could not keep his calm.
When asked about his exciting demeanor at the championship results, Ariarne Titmus’ coach explained that he is supremely dedicated to his athletes. Saying this, he added while talking to The Guardian,
“I can’t help it.”
Boxell further shared that after the completion of his student’s training session, he brainstorms ways to help them get better at the sport. He added that his swimmers leave the pool and head to the recovery process but Boxell begins to dream for them. He shared that he thinks about his athletes at night and finds ways for all of them to improve. Boxell expressed,
“I just don’t turn off.”
He explained that he does not see coaching as a 9 to 5 job. Instead, it is 24x7 work for him. Since he is so invested in his role, he gets emotional when his athletes perform at championships.
In fact, his swimmers are quite used to Boxell’s vulnerable ways of reacting to their wins and losses. When Titmus was asked to comment on her coach’s celebration style in 2021, she had explained,
“That’s just the way Dean is,” the swimmer said.
She added,
“He’s very passionate about what he does – he really becomes quite animated.”
Besides Titmus, Boxell has also coached other Olympic swimmers like Elijah Winnington, Mitch Larkin, Meg Harris, Mollie O'Callaghan, and Abbey Harkin.