Julie Boxsell’s journey into the world of marathon swimming didn’t start with trophies, talent or childhood dreams of sporting glory. It began in the most ordinary way possible, with a middle-aged mum deciding it was time to get a bit fitter.
“I live in Townsville and have done for the last 30 years,” said Julie.
“Before that I did my last few years of schooling in Mackay and I grew up in Emerald, so I’m totally a Central Queensland origin girl.”
At 55, Julie works as a registered nurse in child health, caring for young babies and supporting new mums and dads. She has been married for more than 30 years and is the proud mother of three grown children.
These days she is known for tackling some of the toughest open water swims in the world, but growing up, sport was never really her thing.
“I was a bit hopeless at sport as a kid. I learned to swim in Emerald with a few lessons over the holidays, and apart from that it was just school swimming. I was always the last person picked for a team. I couldn’t catch a ball, couldn’t throw, wasn’t sporty at all. But I really liked the water.”
For many years that was as far as it went. Work, family and everyday life took priority. Then, in 2015, something shifted.
“I decided I needed to get my act together, get fit, lose a bit of weight and meet new people. I started swimming with my kids at squad training. At first I was so slow, about two minutes forty for 100 metres. But I kept at it and realised how much I loved proper swimming.
“After a couple of years I thought, wow, I’m fit, maybe I could try the Magnetic Island to Townsville swim. That’s eight kilometres. In 2018 I did it, made it, and was thrilled. Then I just wanted to see if I could go further.”
And she did.
In 2019 Julie completed her first 20 kilometre swim at Lake Argyle in Western Australia. In 2020 she took on the famous Rottnest Channel Swim in Perth. Along the way she met a group of Melbourne marathon swimmers who changed the way she saw her own potential.
“They were like me, taking it on late in life and not fast in the water, but signing up for huge swims like the English Channel. It made me think, maybe I could do this too. I realised you don’t have to be elite. You just have to be pig-headed and stubborn.”
When travel shut down during the pandemic, Julie didn’t stop. Instead, she created challenges closer to home. In 2021 she became the first person to swim around the entire circumference of Magnetic Island, a 31 kilometre effort that required careful planning around tides and conditions.
Once international travel reopened, the swims became even bigger.
She crossed the Catalina Channel in the United States, and the following year tackled the 48 kilometre swim around Manhattan Island.
“That swim is possibly my favourite ever but it almost didn’t happen.
“I had swum under 19 of the 20 bridges when a thunderstorm came up and the lightning was so close it was dangerous. I had to be pulled out. They gave me another opportunity, so the next night I started again and did the whole thing. Swimming around Manhattan at night was amazing.”
Then came the swim everyone asks about.
“I went and did the English Channel just because I was sick of saying no when people asked if I’d done it. It was the longest I’d ever swum, 14 hours 40 in the Channel.”
Despite the achievements, Julie keeps everything in perspective.
“I do this for fun, for no other reason. There’s certainly no money in it and it costs a bloody fortune, but it has become a massive part of my life.
“Open water means freedom. Conditions are different every day. Some days it’s like a mill pond, other days rough as guts. There’s wildlife, dolphins, sharks, jellyfish. You never know what the day will bring.”
Training has been hard work, especially starting without a strong swimming background, and the past year has been especially challenging as her husband has battled illness. It hasn’t stopped Julie giving back and supporting other swimmers has also become an important part of her swimming life.
“I’ve participated in a few charity things, mostly for Cure Cancer. Two years ago I did a 24-hour event where I swam one mile every hour on the hour and raised about $5,000. As a nurse, cancer has always been important to me, but now my husband has been diagnosed with lung cancer, so it’s even more pertinent.
“Just this month I was on a boat supporting a man attempting a 58 kilometre swim in Tasmania. I love helping other swimmers. If I ever give up my own marathon career, I could happily travel the world assisting others.”
Her message to other women is simple and encouraging.
“You don’t have to be good at something to start. You don’t need a history of being athletic. I’m proof of that. Open water swimming welcomes all shapes, all sizes, all abilities.”
Even now, after swims all around the world, she still finds joy in the simple moments close to home.
“Every time I swim along the Strand in Townsville it’s incredible. Feeling the ocean, the waves, that little element of danger, and seeing the city from the water. I think about all the people who aren’t out there doing it and I kind of feel sorry for them.”
