Giusy Cisale contributed to this report.
Dean Boxall continues to add Italian talent to his already loaded training group in Australia. Following in the footsteps of Simona Quadrella and Sara Franceschi is Italy’s reigning men’s 100 backstroke Olympic Champion, Thomas Ceccon.
Ceccon competed in the Australia vs. the World competition as part of the world team, facing some of Australia’s best. But Ceccon has made a training switch, moving down to work with Dean Boxall’s training group at St. Peter’s Western in Brisbane.
“I’m doing one, two months here with him (Dean Boxall). For us, it’s a different time in Australia. We are done with short course and we start long course from January, so it’s a fresh start,” Ceccon said in a release from Swimming Australia. “I’m here for the weather, for training with Dean, for training differently. I’m glad to be here. I love Dean. I love training, so I’m happy to be back.”
Boxall has helped develop numerous domestic talents, including Lani Pallister, and Ariarne Titmus. More recently, Boxall has added major Italian competitors to his training group, specifically Simona Quadrella and Sara Franceschi.
Quadrella, who specializes in distance freestyle, will look to replicate the success Boxall has had with both Titmus and Pallister to further enhance her resume, which already includes national and European championship titles.
Franceschi has already been named to three Italian Olympic teams, and has her eyes set on a fourth in 2028.
Since winning Olympic gold in Paris, Ceccon has competed in several major meets throughout the 2025 calendar year, including the World Championships in Singapore, all three stops of the World Cup Series, and the European Short Course Championships.
In Singapore, Ceccon’s top individual finish was in the 100 back, the same event in which he achieved Olympic Glory the summer before, touching 2nd in 51.90. He additionally clocked a 3rd-place finish in the 50 butterfly (22.67), and touched 8th in the 100 fly in 51.12.
Throughout the World Cup series, Ceccon’s top finish came in at 2nd, which he managed to do twice on the 2nd spot in Westmont (100 back, 46.60 and 200 back, 1:48.76) and another two times in Toronto on the final stop (50 back, 22.93 and 200 back, 1:47.49).
Most recently, Ceccon won the 100 back at the European Short Course Championships, swimming a lifetime best in 49.29, and putting him just a quarter of a second off Lorenzo Mora’s 2022 national record of 49.04.
Think weather is the driving factor here. May be mistaken but didn’t Marchand suffer an injury during the brief period he trained with Boxall in Australia? Think there was a shoulder subluxation and a stress fracture of some sort, maybe they occurred pre-Australia? Not blaming Boxall for injuries (yes, swim training is strenuous), but it does seem that many of Boxall’s swimmers end up with physical issues–O’Callaghan (knee, shoulder); Titmus (shoulder, hip, unexpected retirement); Winnington (calf strain). Seems like there has been an uptick in AUS swim injuries (esp among female swimmers) following the increased emphasis on “sport science” that was endorsed by Alex Baumann when he led AUS program.
I thought he arrived in Australia with an injury.
He did. He injured himself in December and didn’t come to Australia to January.
People know they can’t criticise Dean’s incredible achievements so they try to make stuff up about him causing injuries lol. I wonder why people are so intimidated by him
Marchand actually sustained a rib injury-stress fracture during his time in Australia with Boxall program.
https://swimswam.com/leon-marchand-set-to-return-to-racing-at-ft-lauderdale-pro-series-after-two-injury-setbacks/
He injured himself in December and kept training through it which resulted in another injury a few weeks later. Unless you think anyone who trains with Boxall just immediately suffers multiple injuries within a week lol
Right, as opposed to suffering an almost-immediate anti-doping violation as Shayna Jack did upon joining the Boxall squad,
You can make as many accounts and sling as many insults as you like but that will never take away the 30+ international golds and 15+ world records he’s coached. Stay mad ❤️
Oh another new profile and another post blaming Boxall for injuries? Your last one was only 2 days ago
I don’t think there is anything conspiratorial or strange about expressing concern about frequency of injuries/maladies, particularly with respect to AUS female swimmers. I’m sure M. Groves, Campbells, Seebohm, McKeon would agree. In fact, such concerns formed the basis for many of the 48 recommendations expressed by an internal commission in Australia in 2021. But it does not seem that things have improved much regarding female athlete well-being in AUS, or the number/treatment of female coaches.
Swimming Australia – 2021 Independent Panel Report Response
Oh look. Another new profile who is the same person that’s been doing this for years lol.
I never said it was a conspiracy. I said it was one loser doing it over and over lol
If you are think there is a correlation between Boxall and injuries, then you must also be concerned about the mental health of the American swimmers. That seems to be a trend too – Dressel, Manuel are the first ones come to mind. Even champion gymnasts… Even Gretchen sisters were talking about this issue in a recent interview if I remember correctly.
Swimming is training intensive so injuries can happen, but what does cause the mental issues?
You really want to go there given the highly publicized struggles of Elijah Winnington and Shayna Jack, both coached by Boxall?
Elijah’s mental struggles begun before he moved to Boxall and have been quite a lot improved since.
It is OK to be vulnerable. However, if you think you are invincible, then you will run into issues when things do not right.
Boxall is one of the best, if not the best, coaches in the world and his relationships with his swimmers seem to be very genuine and wonderful.
I think you missed my point.
1:44.50 200 free loading
Jenna Strauch never trained with Boxall.
Smart of Jenna, as was Ariarne Titmus’ retirement and decampment to Melbourne.
I once looked into possibly training with Boxall at SPW but was turned off when I saw “before and after”-like pictures of one of his top assistants, Mick Lewandowski. (Check Google images). Let’s just say that at one point triathlete Mick looked like a James Magnussen-like candidate for the Enhanced Games. Also, did not like when I heard Boxall refer to his assistants as “assassins” as he did at a swim event ceremony, kinda bizarre.
Didn’t she? I swear I remember her talking about training with Boxall in Tokyo but maybe I’m remembering wrong
It’s hard to believe that he set the 100 back WR 3 1/2 years ago and hasn’t gotten near that time again. Stagnation!
I mean he was 51.9 at worlds this year soooo
51.80 on the medley relay.
And he won Gold in 2024 in a pool that was widely regarded as slow thus the time does’t mean as much as the victory.
The same “slow” pool in which Kaylee McKeown went 57.33 and set a PB and an OR, correct?
The same slow pool in which Martineghi won gold in a 59 in 2025, yes.
That just happened to be a race full of aging swimmers who were past their prime, injured, or inexperienced.
Notice how Bobby Finke was able to set a WR in the longest race of the entire program? If it was truly a slow pool, there’s no way that he could’ve done that.
Do you live under a rock?
I didn’t know that they allowed inmates at insane asylums to use the computer.
Training with Lani will be good for Quadarella
Vice versa!
Welcome Thomas
Kinda a misleading title, makes it sound like he’s moving his training setup there permanently when instead he’s just doing what he did last year and spending a few months training before returning to Italy
The photo caption is interesting too. A nice double entendre, but I’m not sure if he’s doing the regimen or joining the regiment (or both).