Francesca Jean Halsall (born 12 April 1990) is a retired English competitive swimmer who has represented Great Britain at the Olympics, FINA world championships, and European championships, and England at the Commonwealth Games. She competed primarily in freestyle and butterfly events.
 Halsall with 100 m freestyle silver medal at 2009 world championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Francesca Jean Halsall |
| Nickname | "Fran" |
| National team |  Great Britain |
| Born | 12 April 1990 Southport, England |
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) |
| Website | FrancescaHalsall.com |
| Spouse | |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly |
| Club | Loughborough University |
| Coach | James Gibson |
Medal record | |
Halsall was the youngest member of the Team England swim squad at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she won silver medals in the 4×100-metre freestyle and 4×100-metre medley relays.
She was a member of the European Aquatics Championships 4×100-metre medley relay team that took gold in August 2006 and successfully defended their title in August 2008 in Eindhoven. Halsall won five medals at the 2010 European Championships in Budapest, 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and a Bronze and was a member of the 4x100-metre medley relay team that successfully defended their title for a second time. In winning five medals, she became the most successful British swimmer ever at a single championships.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, Halsall won a gold medal, with a national record of 26.19 seconds, in the 50-metre butterfly, beating the favoured Australians. In the 100-metre freestyle Halsall was expected to win easily but a bout of illness (Delhi Belly) left her pale and weak and she had to be content with the bronze medal. Just 20 minutes later and despite being almost unable to stand up she returned for the 100-metre butterfly semi finals but failed to make the final. Later in the Games Halsall recovered enough to win 3 more silver medals in the women's 50-metre freestyle and as part of the 4x100-metre freestyle and 4x100-metre medley relay teams.
Personal life
editHalsall was born in Southport and attended St Mary's College, Crosby.[1]
In July 2017, Halsall was made an Honorary Doctor of Science (HonDSc) by Edge Hill University.[2][3]
In 2018, Halsall married rugby league star Jon Wilkin.
Swimming career
edit2008 FINA Short Course World Championships
editHalsall won four medals at 2008 World Short Course Championships in Manchester, including 4×100 m freestyle bronze on her 18th birthday. She won the silver medal in the 100 m freestyle behind Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands.
2008 Summer Olympics
editHalsall represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 100 m butterfly, 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 4×100 m freestyle, 4×200 m freestyle and 4×100 m medley
In the 100 m freestyle final, she placed 8th, at 54.29. She swam a British record of 53.81 which helped the British quartet set a new national record of 3:38.18 in the 4×100 m freestyle.
2009 FINA Long Course World Championships
editHalsall competed in 4 events at the 2009 world championships in Rome. She set a championship record for the 100m freestyle in the lead-off leg during the heats, and in the finals swam the lead leg, with Great Britain placing 7th. Halsall placed 5th in the 50m freestyle in a national record of 24.11. In the 100m, she out-touched Lisbeth Trickett of Australia to take silver in a national record of 52.87, with Germany's Britta Steffen winning in a new world record of 52.07. Halsall anchored the 4x100 metre medley relay to 5th place.
2012 Summer Olympics
editAt the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Halsall competed in five events.[4] Halsall reached the semi-finals of 100m butterfly, posting a time of 58.52,[5] well off her season's best of 57.56 set in March.[6] Halsall made the finals of the 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle, finishing 6th and 5th respectively.[7] In the 4×100 m freestyle relay Halsall swam the second leg in a split of 53.29, helping the British team to a 5th-place finish. In the final of the 4×100 m medley relay the British team finished 8th, with Halsall providing an anchor leg of 54.08.
2013 FINA Long Course World Championships
editHaving just missed out on a medal in the 50m butterfly by coming fourth, Halsall successfully gained bronze in the 50m freestyle posting a time of 24.30 seconds. This ended a disappointing drought of medals for Great Britain just one year after the London Olympics, though Halsall was the only swimmer to finish in a medal-winning position.[8]
2014 Commonwealth Games
editAt the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Halsall won gold in the 50 m freestyle, setting three new Commonwealth Games records along the way.[9] She also won the 50 m butterfly in a Games record time.[9] In the relay events, she helped England to win silver in the 4 × 100 m freestyle and the 4 × 100 m medley.[9]
2016 Olympics
editHalsall competed for Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal in the 50 metres freestyle and helping the GB team to finish 7th in the 4 × 100 m freestyle.[10]
Personal bests and records held
edit| Event | Long course | Short course |
|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 23.96 (2014) NR | 23.44 (2009) NR |
| 100 m freestyle | 52.87 (2009) NR | 51.19 (2009) NR |
| 200 m freestyle | 1.59.13 (2008) | 1.53.79 (2010) NR |
| 50 m butterfly | 25.20 (2014) NR | 25.29 (2014) NR |
| 100 m butterfly | 57.40 (2010) | 55.71 (2009) NR |
| 100 m individual medley | 58.55 (2009) | |
| Record Key NR:British | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Gold for Fran!". School News. St. Mary's College. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ Saunders, Lawrence (4 July 2017). "Edge Hill University announces honorary degree recipients – Your Move Magazine". YM Liverpool. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Honorary awards". Edge Hill University. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Francesca Halsall – Swimming – Olympic Athlete". London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Women's 100 Butterfly – Olympic Swimming". London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "SwimNews Rankings". swimnews.com. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Women's 50m Freestyle – Olympic Swimming". London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Why did GB swimmers miss their medal target in Barcelona?". BBC Sport. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ a b c "Glasgow 2014 – Francesca Halsall Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Fran Halsall". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Fran Halsall at World Aquatics
- Francesca Halsall at Swimrankings.net
- Francesca Halsall at Olympics.com
- Fran Halsall at Olympedia
- Fran Halsall at Team GB (archive)
- Francesca Halsall at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived) (2006)
- Francesca Halsall at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived) (2010–2014)
- Profile at British Swimming Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
