We Hope Your Day Is Going As Well As Ariarne Titmus’ Coach After She Won Gold
Dean Boxall is basically all of Australia right now.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have officially started, and three days in Australia is already bringing home the gold.
In a nail-biting finish, Australia’s own Ariarne Titmus beat out American frontrunner Katie Ledecky in the women’s 400m freestyle event.
While Ledecky is the current world record holder for the women’s 400m freestyle and took out the 2016 Olympic gold medal, Titmus managed to beat the American in today’s final with a time of 3:56.69 after taking the lead in the last 100 metres.
Ecstatic with her win, Titmus told Channel Seven she was just trying to contain her emotions as she still had the 200m freestyle heats to compete in later tonight.
“I can’t believe it. I’m trying to contain my emotions,” Titmus said post-race. “This past year I don’t know whether it’s gone fast or slow, but to get here was a relief. To come here and do the job, I’m over the moon.”
“I wouldn’t be here without [Ledecky]. She set this incredible standard,” Titmus continued. “I’ve been trying to chase her — it’s really exciting now we have this battle going. It’s really fun to race.”
“I tried to stay as composed as I could. Then just tried to stick to my race plan. I can’t believe I pulled it off.”
But while Titmus was rightfully over the moon with her efforts, it was clear that no one was more excited for Ariarne Titmus’ win than her coach, Dean Boxall.
Ariarne Titmus' coach Dean Boxall is all of Australia rn 😂#Tokyo2020 | #7Olympics | #Swimming pic.twitter.com/VI0K8vZLzW
— 7Olympics (@7olympics) July 26, 2021
Absolutely buzzing at the news of the win, Boxall jumped around, ripped off his mask, punched the air, and hung off the barriers while screaming in pure joy when Titmus tapped the pool edge. To get the full experience, Boxall’s entire reaction can be seen here.
The moment of celebration, while short, has already unofficially taken the prize for the best moment of the Tokyo Games so far — and for the most stressful moment for the poor staff trying to keep everyone where they need to be.
Ariarne Titmus' gold medal, plus her coach with his wild hair going nuts and screaming in the crowd upstairs, early contender for best moment of the Games
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) July 26, 2021
My favourite part is the poor Japanese staff member desperately trying to ensure he stays in his zone while politely clapping
— Carrick Ryan (@realCarrickRyan) July 26, 2021
Thoughts & prayers to the woman trying to keep Ariarne Titmus’s coach from falling over the barrier during his celebration.
— Amanda Litman (@amandalitman) July 26, 2021
And even though it may look extreme, this is actually a totally normal reaction for Dean Boxall.
At the Olympic Trials earlier this year, Boxall had a similar reaction to Titmus making the qualifiers, with his excitement at both the Olympics and the Trials basically summing up how all of Australia feels right now — bloody over the moon.
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This is the second gold medal for Australia at the Tokyo Games. Yesterday, Team Australia took out the women’s 4×100 metre freestyle relay and managed to break a world record in the process.
Australia also has one silver and two bronze, meaning our five medals currently place us in tied sixth place with the Republic of Korea.
(Feature image: Getty Images/David Ramos)