Julie Boxsell: A Passion for Open Water
As Masters Swimming Queensland counts down to the 2026 MSQ State Championships in Townsville, the Making Waves in the North series is shining a spotlight on the remarkable swimmers, volunteers and clubs that make our northern Masters community so special. In this feature, we celebrate the inspiring open water journey of Julie Boxsell.
Prior to 2018, Julie’s finest achievement in swimming was earning her 400m badge at Emerald Primary School in Queensland.
“Everyone else was done, and the teacher told me to get out because the other kids were all dressed and ready to leave. I was still chugging along. I refused to get out, and I earned that bloody badge.”
While she loved the water, Julie admits she was never a particularly strong swimmer. She recalls being terrified when her own children swam out to the back of the stinger nets because it seemed so far away.
Julie started training with her children in 2015 to lose weight and improve her fitness, and she quickly discovered that she loved swimming. Around 2017, she joined Masters Swimming after some encouragement from the squad she was training with.
She dabbled in pool competitions but never really found her place there.
“I wasn’t good at dives, turns or sprinting because I hadn’t grown up swimming like most of the other swimmers. At pool competitions, I’m much happier to volunteer on the day. And, if I’m honest, I was mostly there to chat with people anyway.”
While pool events provided a useful way to measure progress and improvements in performance, Julie’s priorities have changed over time.
“Pool events were good to gauge if all the effort was making a difference as far as times go, but I haven’t really been interested in times and speed for the last few years. I still love the longer open water swims, so focusing on technique and endurance rather than speed, to enable me to keep swimming forever, is more important.”
A remarkable open water resume
Over the past five years, Julie has completed some of Australia’s and the world’s most iconic open water swims, including:
- Coolangatta Beach to Broadbeach – 18.9km (10hr 42min)
- Around Magnetic Island – 31.3km (10hr 31min)
- Derwent River – 33.5km (9hr 45min)
- Catalina Channel – 32.3km (13hr 16min)
- 20 Bridges Swim Around Manhattan – 45.9km (9hr 25min)
- English Channel – 33km (14hr 40min)
Despite these remarkable achievements, one swim stands above the rest.
“I would say I’m proudest of the swim around Magnetic Island. As far as Masters and open water swimming go, I’ve done the Big Barrine Bash each time it was run. Honestly, without that, getting a 10km qualifying time to enter Rottnest when you live up here would have been too daunting, and I probably wouldn’t have persisted with the idea of doing it.”
Julie hopes opportunities for longer-distance qualifying swims will return to North Queensland.
“I’m very hopeful a 10km qualifier swim will get off the ground again up here, as it may encourage others to have a look at some big swims if that’s their dream. I look forward to a time when open water swims completed as Masters events might even be valued enough to make it onto the Masters database of member times.”
Proudly part of the Long Tan Legends
Julie is also proud to be a member of the Long Tan Legends. While she rarely trains with the club due to being a morning swimmer and the Legends primarily training in the afternoons, she still feels a strong connection to the group.
“They have a great social life, they’re a lovely group of swimmers, and I still very much feel part of the team.”
From earning a hard-fought 400m badge at primary school to conquering some of the world’s most challenging open water swims, Julie’s journey is a reminder that determination, persistence and a love of the water can take you far beyond where you ever imagined.
