The coaches who helped make our Olympic swim super women Arnie and Emma
The coaches who helped make our Olympic swim super women Arnie and Emma, while being architects of the greatest performance by an Australian Olympic swimming team.
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Meet the men who made Arnie and Emma, our Olympic swimming super women.
They are Dean Boxall and Michael Bohl whose coaching partnership started at St Peters Western and finished with them architects of the greatest performance by an Australian Olympic swimming team.
Bohl, a veteran of five Olympic campaigns, coaches Gold Coast-based Emma McKeon who won four individual gold medals - and an Olympic record equalling seven overall - in Tokyo, while Boxall coached six Aussies in Tokyo - including Titmus who looms as the greatest female 200m and 400m of all time.
Bohl is so respected by McKeon, she dedicated her 50m gold medal to her Griffith University Gold Coast coach Bohl.
“I felt I owed it to Bohly because of all the work he has put in,’’ she said.
But did you know Bohl, the son of a Brisbane policeman who represented Australia at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, had his DNA all over Titmus’ 200 and 400m gold medal triumphs over Katie LeDecky?
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Boxall was Bohl’s understudy at St Peters Western when Bohl introduced a program which changed the way the club’s 400m, 800m, 1500m and ocean swimmers trained.
“Arnie does a lot of Ks (kilometres), but nowhere near that of a traditional distance swimmer,’’ Boxall said.
“I can’t say it is my idea because with Michael Bohl, (his) guys won short course, long course and open water and paralympics
“He (Bohl) is the ultimate coach that can do any discipline in any event.
“He had guys that won the 25km open water, and they are doing basically 50 per cent less than what the Russias were doing.
“For example the Russians were doing 14km sessions but he’d be averaging his swimmers doing 7-8 km, but then Saturday would be a big session with 10-11km.’’
Bohl said the key to training was “trying to make the program hard, but keeping them interested’’.
“You have to be able to throw variety in, a lot of cross stuff - it is on bikes, it is doing body weight stuff, on land, circuit work.
“We did things like eight minutes on the bike, 800m swim, six minutes on the bike, 600m swim, four minutes on the bike, 400m swim. “Those things are good for the kids to do.
“It is trying to keep them engaged.’’
“Doing 10km sessions day after day, you get just as good a value out of putting them on a bike or sending them for a run.
“It is trying to be innovative, thinking a little outside the box a bit and getting the kids fitter.’’
Both men are the backbone of Australia’s swimmer success.
As good a swimmer as he was, Bohl is a swimming super coach who oversaw the career of Olympic golden girl Stephanie Rice, took Mitch Larkin to the 2015 world title and was the coach Emily Seebohm turned to help get her on the podium in Tokyo.
His daughter Georgia, a Rio Olympian, gave an insight into her father’s tough love when she revealed when she was 12-13, her dad would not allow her to compete at an age nationals despite her qualifying.
“He said ‘you are not doing nationals because you have not earnt the spot, not trained properly. “But he made me go and watch. So that kind of ignited the inner fire.’’
Both are good blokes and don’t seek out the media.
Few pictures of Bohl are found in News Corp pic desks, while Boxall would be mortified he went viral for his victory dance after Titmus’ success.
Boxall is outwardly more intense than Bohl.
If you want to exchange pleasantries with Boxall at a school or club meet, do it early because his competitive juices flow.
He is so passionate about his swimmers, he greets all of them with a hand shake and a look in the eye as they leave the pool - win, lose or draw.
Prior to the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he hung a sign across lane five of the St Peters Western pool which acclaimed Tokyo 2020, expecting everyone in his group to strive for the prime real estate of lane five at the Games.
When the Games’ were called off, the sign remained, weather beaten until it basically disintegrated.
But while the motivational sign disappeared, the passion of Boxall and his swimmers did not, emphasised by their performance in Tokyo last week.
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