Australian swimming coach Dean Boxall has issued an apology for his overzealous viral celebration at the Tokyo Olympics.
Boxall hit the headlines on Monday when star Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus shocked the sport by winning the 400m freestyle gold ahead of rival and favourite Katie Ledecky. Many believe this could help to bring in a whole new generation of success for Australia in the pool, but regardless of whether or not that happens, this is a medal-winning moment that Titmus is unlikely to forget.
The passion from down under
The aforementioned Boxall has clearly been through a lot with his student over the years and when confronted with the reality of her winning the big one, he simply couldn’t contain himself with a reaction that The Ultimate Warrior would’ve been proud of.
During a recent interview, Boxall apologised after the footage showed him ripping off his face mask before almost throwing it into the crowd.
Speaking to Australia’s Seven Network, he said: “I need to apologise, actually, because I tore my mask off and it ripped. I just lost it in the moment.”
Ariarne’s coach Dean Boxall sums it up perfectly! #TokyoTogether pic.twitter.com/Kvww2jpSFy
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) July 26, 2021
“It just came out,” he said. “It built up in the trials, it was coming through and then when I saw the race unfolding I couldn’t keep it in.”
“I think I went outside of my body.”
The Summer Olympics may not have any fans in attendance outside of those who are coaching in the Games, but there’s still a real sense of occasion that you just don’t get every day in sport. Sure, it’ll be great when supporters can flock into stadiums in their thousands for Paris 2024, but Tokyo 2020 is still providing us with some epic moments – including the exploits of Dean Boxall.
It may not have been pretty, but it was certainly passionate.
Featured image credit: Getty