An abiding personal memory of Boyle, though, comes not from the pool but beside it, at the London Olympics in 2012.
Boyle had already made the 400m freestyle final, finishing eighth.
Four days later she lined up in the 800m final and flew through for fourth, in an Oceania record time 8min 22.72s. More significantly in one of the most gruelling disciplines she was just 2.4s off bronze.
Coming through the mixed zone afterwards, she was alone. New Zealand's Olympic media team should have given themselves an upper cut.
At a time of high emotion, they hadn't bothered to send one of their staff to shepherd her through the throng and back to the changing rooms.
All around the crush of media were gathered in front of the three medallists. Translation: they hadn't expected her to shake the medal territory.
Boyle found two New Zealand journalists further down the concourse.
The standard 'how did that feel' opening question produce a mumbled few words before Boyle dissolved in tears.
She talked about the struggles to get that far and the emotions took over. Imagine if she had gone just a tick or two faster. How would she have coped before a jostling throng of international journalists?
The Rio Olympics last year were shaping as Boyle's time. American teenager Katie Ledecky remains the undisputed women's champion of the pool, but Boyle would have been a big chance to medal.
A lingering hip injury in the leadup did for her, she was well below her best.
A highly intelligent woman, with a degree in business from the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley, at 29, the time is right to move on with the rest of her life.
At Berkeley, Boyle came under the guidance of noted American coach Terri McKeever.
From her, she admitted she learnt plenty about personal growth, became "a more confident person, in a way where (you learn that) you don't have to be good at only one thing".
In an interview with the Herald, Boyle talked of her love of swimming.
"Lots of days I love swimming so much and don't want to stop.
"I get to go to so many amazing places...and keep really fit for omy job. I am so lucky to live this life."
And she described her biggest buzz as the simple business of making improvements - simple when you say it, anyway.
"That's what I strive for and the best feeling I can get from the sport, that I've changed something or grown in some way to improve my performance to a level it's never been before."
Boyle's has undoubtedly been a career of outstanding achievement.
Great? No. That requires victory on the toughest stages. But as she put it today, with a huge dollop of understatement, her record is ''not too bad for a girl from Auckland".
Amen to that.
